#Luminaries - Jonathan Safran Foer

Jonathan Safran Foer is an American author renowned primarily for his two acclaimed novels, "Everything Is Illuminated" and "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close." Born on February 21, 1977, in Washington, D.C., he grew up in a Jewish-American family. His father, Albert Foer, is a lawyer and president of the American Antitrust Institute, while his mother, Esther Safran Foer, is CEO of the Sixth and I Historic Synagogue.

Jonathan is the middle of three brothers, all involved in literary pursuits. He attended Georgetown Day School and later Princeton University, where he studied philosophy and literature and developed his writing skills under the mentorship of Joyce Carol Oates. His senior thesis on his Holocaust-survivor grandfather, Louis Safran, won Princeton's Senior Creative Writing Thesis Prize and later became the basis for his debut novel, "Everything Is Illuminated," published in 2002.

"Everything Is Illuminated" combines humor, tragedy, and experimental narrative structure to tell the story of a young man's search in Ukraine for the woman who may have saved his grandfather from the Nazis. The book was widely praised, earning the National Jewish Book Award and the Guardian First Book Award. It was adapted into a film in 2005 directed by Liev Schreiber and starring Elijah Wood.

Foer's second novel, "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close," published in 2005, tackles the aftermath of the September 11 attacks through the eyes of a 9-year-old boy, Oskar Schell, who embarks on a quest around New York City to find the lock fitting a mysterious key left by his deceased father. The novel is notable for its unconventional, visual writing style, including photographs, varied typography, and a flipbook ending, which divided critics — some lauding its innovation, others criticizing it as gimmicky. The book was also made into a film, produced by Scott Rudin and directed by Stephen Daldry.

After his initial literary success, Foer briefly enrolled at Mount Sinai School of Medicine but left to focus on writing. He later ventured into non-fiction with "Eating Animals" (2009), a critical examination of the ethics and environmental consequences of meat consumption, reflecting his own choice of vegetarianism.

Foer has also contributed to anthologies, served as a lecturer at Yale University teaching fiction, and held a professorship in the Graduate Creative Writing Program at New York University. His later works include the innovative "Tree of Codes" (2010), an artistic novel created by cutting out portions of another book to create a new narrative.

Foer's literary style often experiments with form and structure, blending anecdote, visual elements, and non-linear narrative, which invites both acclaim and controversy. He is known for a deep engagement with themes of memory, trauma, family history, and cultural identity.

Jonathan Safran Foer continues to live in Brooklyn, New York with his wife, novelist Nicole Krauss, and their son. He remains a provocative and influential figure in contemporary American literature.

This profile encapsulates his formative years, major works, themes, and roles in literary academia, tracing his journey as a writer whose bold innovations and explorations of painful histories have left a significant mark on 21st-century fiction.