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of completely realized absence - nothing was to be found (www.
harpercollins.com).
As a result of finding nothing, not even a woman like Lista as Jonathan
does in his novel, Foer creates a fictive history of Trachimbrod woven
with elements of magical realism and myth. Part of that narrative is a
fictional representation of himself.
The technique of using elements of folklore, myth, and magical realism
to create a Holocaust narrative is one that many critics, such as Lee
Behlman, Mihai Mindra, and Francisco Collado-Rodriguez recognize as
a trend in contemporary Jewish-American literature. In his essay, “The
Escapist: Fantasy, Folklore, and the Pleasures of the Comic Book in Recent
Jewish American Holocaust Fiction,” Behlman explains that at the
heart of this trend is a desire to express the “massive collective experience”
of the Holocaust (Behlman 56). In order to express the magnitude of
this collective experience among the Jewish community and the world,
he argues that Foer creates “a set of voices that always distance and mediate
experience” (60). Lisa Propst argues that “this acceptance of disparate
voices belongs to a long Jewish history,” one which can be found
in sacred Jewish writings such as the Torah, whose ambiguities elicit “a
host of heterogeneous views in the Talmud and the Midrash” (Propst
38). Upon analysis of how this ‘set of voices’ interacts, Behlman’s and
Propst’s arguments can be taken a step further. The complex narrative
structure in which the pages of Everything Is Illuminated are meant to
be seen as an “ongoing work of fiction” minimizes the author-character’s
voice. The complex manner in which the two main narrators’ voices affect
one another, as well as the unique way dialogue is presented in the text,
complicate voice to such an extent that no individual voice goes unaffected
by another. Foer’s use of heteroglossia implies that the events of
the novel form a collective experience that must be communicated with
many voices.
26 | Mehlinger
In order for this meaning to be conveyed, Foer complicates the concept
of individual voice. Because each narrative affects the others, none
of the voices in the novel can speak independently of other voices. For
example, we know from Alex’s letters that he sends drafts of his narrative
to Jonathan and that Jonathan sends drafts of his narrative to him.
Alex holds Jonathan’s opinion in high esteem not only because he is a
friend, but also because he is an American writer. From his earliest letter
to Jonathan, Alex discusses changes Jonathan has suggested to the section
of Alex’s narrative that preceded the letter. He writes, “I am so happy
because you were appeased by the first division that I posted to you.
You must know that I have performed the corrections you demanded. I
apologize for the last line, about how you are a very spoiled Jew. It has
been changed, and is now written, ‘I do not want to drive ten hours to
an ugly city to attend to a spoiled Jew’” (Foer 24). When looking back
at the chapter Alex is referring to, it is clear that we are seeing the first
draft unaltered by Jonathan’s suggestion. The sentence at the end of the
passage reads, “I do not want to drive ten hours to an ugly city to attend
to a very spoiled Jew” (7). The only difference between the version in this
letter and the original version is the word “very.” Alex’s response exhibits
his sense of humor. Despite having apologized for his original description
of Jonathan as a “very spoiled Jew,” he rejects Jonathan’s suggestion. He
omits only the word “very,” perhaps to tease Jonathan. In spite of this
rejection, Jonathan’s suggestions often do end up making an impact on
Alex’s writing. In the same letter, Alex says that he “jettisoned out the
word ‘Negroes,’ as you ordered me to, even though it is true that I am
so fond of them” (24). Here Alex refers to the passage in which he introduces
himself by listing things he enjoys, which includes the statement,
“I dig Negroes, particularly Michael Jackson” (2). In each of Alex’s letters
to Jonathan, he mentions more of Jonathan’s suggested alterations to his
writing. By altering and cutting aspects of Alex’s writing, Jonathan aug-
Mehlinger | 27