Jonathan Safran Foer is the author of the novels 'Full Illumination,' 'Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,' and 'Here I Am,' as well as the non-fiction works 'Meat: Eating Animals' and 'The Weather Is Us.'

Foer's latest novel has been eagerly awaited for over a decade. 'Here I Am' is a sweeping epic narrative, a book that clearly aspires to be a great American novel. Russian readers will certainly recall the well-known quote from 'Anna Karenina': 'Every family is unhappy in its own way.' For the heroes of 'Here I Am,' Jacob and Julia, who have been married for half their lives and raised three sons, discord is perceived as more than just a misfortune—the end of the world. A private tragedy is compounded by a global tragedy: a powerful earthquake in the Middle East leads to an escalation of military conflict. The connection between time and people is broken—loneliness is felt with unprecedented intensity, and everyone finds themselves alone with their fears.

From now on, the heroes will have to look at their lives in a new way and see the gap between the life they desire and the life they live.