Where It All Goes Down
Ukraine, Late 1990s and Trachimbrod, 1791—1942
The vision we get of the Ukraine in this book is best summed up this way:
"There are many dangerous people who want to take things without asking from Americans, but also kidnap them. Good night." [Jonathan] laughed again, but he laughed because he did not know that I was not making a funny. (10.28)
Um, lol? We also hear Alex talk about how people love to steal things, hurt people, and that Ukraine is generally dangerous. Despite all this, Alex often defends his country (and reminds us how hot its women are… hey, Mila Kunis!), and doesn't want to see it disparaged. (We guess he can critique it since he's a native.)
The modern-day part of the story takes place in Ukraine, but half of the book also takes place in the past, set in the lost shtetl of Trachimbrod. We're told it's also called "Sofiowka" but only on "maps and Mormon census records" (2.7). It's full of wacky characters, who interact with each other primarily through gossip and legend: "The less a citizen knew, the more adamantly he or she argued" (2.42).
Gee, sounds like cable news. Zing!
In any case, Trachimbrod's defining feature is Trachimday, a festival originally intended to find Trachim's body, but now featuring a parade and a contest. Death by drowning! Hooray!
But don't put on your party hat just yet. Not-Augustine tells us that Trachimbrod "ended fifty years ago" (18.18). The Trachimbrod we see is created by Jonathan Safran Foer (the character) based on stories he hears and things he finds in the box Augustine gives him. We never really know whether his Trachimbrod is based in fact or entirely a work of magical fiction.
But this is really a book about writing stories. So if it feels real, does it matter if it ever existed at all?