Jonathan Safran Foer

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Jonathan Safran Foer

Jonathan Safran Foer (born February 21, 1977) is an American novelist. He is best known for his novels Everything Is Illuminated (2002), Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2005), and Here I Am (2016). Foer has also written non-fiction works, including Eating Animals (2009) and We Are the Weather (2019).

Early Life and Education

Foer was born in Washington, D.C., to a Jewish family. He is the son of Albert Foer, a lawyer, and Esther Safran Foer, a Holocaust survivor. He attended Georgetown Day School and later went on to study at Princeton University, where he was mentored by writer Joyce Carol Oates. Foer graduated from Princeton in 1999 with a degree in philosophy.

Career

Foer's debut novel, Everything Is Illuminated, was published in 2002 and received critical acclaim. The novel tells the story of a young American Jew who travels to Ukraine to find the woman who saved his grandfather during the Holocaust. The book won several awards, including the National Jewish Book Award and the Guardian First Book Award. It was later adapted into a film in 2005, directed by Liev Schreiber.

His second novel, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, was published in 2005. The story revolves around a young boy named Oskar Schell, who searches for information about his father, who died in the September 11 attacks. The novel was also adapted into a film in 2011, starring Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock.

In 2009, Foer published Eating Animals, a non-fiction work that explores the ethical, environmental, and health implications of meat consumption. The book has been influential in the animal rights and vegetarianism movements.

Foer's third novel, Here I Am, was published in 2016. The novel examines the life of a Jewish-American family in crisis, set against the backdrop of a catastrophic earthquake in the Middle East.

In 2019, Foer released another non-fiction book, We Are the Weather, which discusses the impact of climate change and the importance of individual action in combating it.

Personal Life

Foer was married to writer Nicole Krauss from 2004 to 2014. They have two children together. He currently resides in Brooklyn, New York City.

Bibliography

• Everything Is Illuminated (2002)
• Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2005)
• Eating Animals (2009)
• Tree of Codes (2010)
• Here I Am (2016)
• We Are the Weather (2019)

Awards and Honors

• National Jewish Book Award (2002)
• Guardian First Book Award (2002)
• New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award (2003)

See Also

• List of Jewish American authors
• Postmodern literature
• Vegetarianism