Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

Summary:

Meet Oskar, a child who recently lost his father to the attacks of September 11th. Before his father’s death, the two would always be engaged in some kind of mystery game, so when Oskar finds a key left behind by his dad, he knows he has to find its lock. The adventure guides Oskar all over the five boroughs of New York, forcing him to travel to new places and meet a ton of new people. But Oskar’s story isn’t the only one being told. There are a couple other mysterious narrators who slowly reveal themselves and their relations to Oskar. By the end of the story, we find a more mature Oskar, but even with all that he’s learned about himself and his world, the void left by his father remains. This is an honest, raw story of how a nation’s tragedy is also a little boy’s tragedy, and the effects can never be washed away.

Comments:

I loved Oskar as a narrator. His childish and innocent views of the world are strangely adorable and I couldn’t help but be completely affected by them. At first the other narrators are a bit confusing and not quite as interesting. It all comes together towards the end, and as a reader, I realized the temporary confusion was necessary for me to better relate to Oskar.

The book explores love, human suffering, the complexities of family, and the undeniably impressive curiosity of children. I found it to be sad, uplifting, hilarious, and enlightening. Foer manages to balance each emotion to highlight its opposite, creating a very poignant story. He also incorporates pictures throughout the story that only add to its incredible depth.

The Point:

Oskar’s story is amazing, heartbreaking, and lovely. Everyone has parents and many of us have children; this is a story that signifies the importance of family and the legends we leave behind. As a new parent, it spoke to me on a higher level, but I think it could speak to anyone who takes the time to read it.