I read somewhere that Jonathan Safran Foer’s “Everything is Illuminated” was a slaughtering of the English language that made for an amazing book. I thought it was written on the cover, or elsewhere in the reviews inside, but of course now I can’t find it.

I love authors who break away from “the rules.” Your high school English teacher would have a heart attack marking up this book. But it’s done so purposefully and so beautifully, you are sucked into the story that much more.

The story itself is at times hilarious and moments later heartbreaking. I told a friend it’s like having your iTunes on shuffle. One minute you’re bopping along to something fun, then it’s a piano-driven elegy to a fallen loved one.

The story follows Jonathan’s quest to learn more about his family, who fled part of the Ukraine during the Holocaust. He’s an American, who enlists the help of a driver and translator for his fact-finding mission. The humor comes from the translator, who narrates a good portion of the book. The format itself is unique, following a pattern that hands the story back and forth to different voices.

The Jonathan character is writing a history of his family in Ukraine. Alex, the translator, is giving the account of the actual trip. He’s also writing letters to Jonathan, telling him about his work translating Jonathan’s story. Alex doesn’t have the strongest handle on the language, but does have a great sense of humor about it.

Alex’s family is also involved in the story, though they are a bit off the deep end. The great part is that Alex doesn’t really get bogged down by their dysfunction. At one point, he gets in an argument with his father: “Father removed three pieces of ice from the refrigerator, closed the refrigerator, and punched me. ‘Put these on your face’….I should have been smarter.”

His female dog is also named “Sammy Davis, Junior, Junior.” As someone who plans to name his first pet “Captain Awesome,” I was instantly endeared to Alex.

I always dog-ear pages in these books so I can go back and recount things that stick out, like the punch in the face scene. Sometimes though, I spend a few minutes reading a page over and over again trying to remember what on Earth I was marking for later. Something happens on page 114. Don’t know quite what to make of it. Sorry.

I can however tell you about page 142. Alex is writing one of his letters to Jonathan, saying the American is way too high-strung and needs to chill out. A man of my own heart, Alex says: “This is difficult to achieve, because in truth you are a person with very much anxiety. Perhaps you should be a drug user.” For those of you who may fit the Jonathan mold, and who have heard the drug suggestion from me, I stand by my suggestion.

As someone who gets paid to write for a living, I understand that even when it’s your job, the words don’t always come easily. In Jonathan’s history, he’s recounting the work of those writing “The Book of Antecedents.” The book is a collection of history, anecdotes and bizarre things the town is recording for future posterity. Some days the words don’t come very easily, but in an effort to record what’s happening, even the writers record their actions: “We are writing…We are writing…We are writing…We are writing…We are writing…We are writing…We are writing…We are writing…We are writing…We are writing…” That’s beautiful work. And keeping with Foer’s style, they’re declaration “We are writing” goes on for a page and a half.

I am done writing…I am done writing…I am done writing…

Next Up: “The Prince” by Niccolo Machiavelli