Here I am--now what?

Jonathan Safran Foer named his novel for Abraham's answer when God called him. He explores what these words can mean in different situations, for different people in his life.

We, the readers, see the Bloch family mostly through Jacob's eyes, and his story is about finding his own identity in a world full of noisy distractions, diversions, virtual realities, confusing politics, and cultural diversity. Jacob was raised in a Jewish family by people who had seen horrible times in Europe, and therefore his worldview is informed first and foremost by his familial culture, even if he himself is not particularly religious.

This is a beautifully written novel, in which Jacob explores his place in the world, his life, and his children's lives. There are family members who want him to feel that Israel is his true home, though he has always lived in America. Meanwhile, he and his wife Julia are raising three boys who will have a completely different worldview, because each generation does that: they diverge, somewhat, from the culture and views of their parents.

I loved his sons! Jacob's oldest son, Sam, is a precocious kid who manages to navigate a bar mitzvah he does not want and prepare his younger brothers for a divorce that he seems to perceive before his father does. And the conversations Jacob and Julia have with this super-bright boys are a joy to read.

There is much to ponder here, some of the biggest questions there are...Jacob is in his early forties, facing big changes in his life, and trying to answer, for himself, life's biggest questions: Identity and purpose. He's been very hard on himself--how much is expected of him? What culturally imposed expectations do people have, from birth? We get a picture of Jacob, warts and all, and all the angst.

Here I Am is an impressive, ambitious novel and I would recommend it to anyone.

p.s. For me, there was a world of new vocabulary words.