Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Ok, so I read this book because my friend and soon-to-be-roommate-for-only-a-month-ish Emily said I should. We were talking about books and reading and how much we liked reading books (imagine that!), and she told me it was her very favorite book. So I read it!

Written by Jonathan Safran Foer, this book is different from any other book I have ever read. The main character of the story is 8 year old Oskar Schell, and main part of the story is set in 2003. Oskar's father died in the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and things just have not been right since. Oskar is a ridiculously brilliant and eccentric child, and his mind is fascinating. He deals with the grief of his dad's passing by beating himself up (giving himself bruises). When something makes him sad, he says it "gives him heavy boots". I am really interested to know where that came from!

Oskar narrates most of the novel, although there are 2 other narrators at various points throughout the book, as well (more on this later). Because Oskar is brilliant and eccentric, his viewpoint is captivating. At the same time, Foer does a good job writing a narration from a child's point of view. It can be rather comical!

After his father's death, Oskar finds a key in an envelope in a vase in his dad's closet. The word "Black" is written on the envelope. He goes on a lengthy quest through all of New York to find the lock that goes to the key and to discover the significance of said lock and key. On this mission, he meets all sorts of people and makes some new friends.

I haven't decided if his quest was really a healing process for him. I guess it was a healing process, it was just different from what I expected. I don't think there was as much closure as I would have liked.

The other 2 narrators are Oskar's grandparents who narrate their lives starting in Germany and ending...somewhere. Oskar spent a lot of time with his grandmother and was really close to her. He had never met his grandfather. All three narrators have one unifying quality - tragedy. Each of the three have been through extremely traumatic experiences.

One other thing that makes this book interesting and unique is the use of pictures throughout the book. Pictures often take up entire pages, showing you things that Oskar sees along his journey. Some pictures included in the book were of a 9/11 jumper, someone who chose to jump to escape fire and the imminent collapse of the building (Oskar has singled out the man in this picture as possibly being his father - there is some resemblance). At the end of the book, Oskar rearranges the pictures of the jumper so that when you flip through them, he is floating up toward the sky as opposed to down towards the ground.

I had a difficult time with the fact that the book included pictures of an actual jumper. It was just really difficult for me to know that in that photograph was a person who had a life and a family and had to choose between a number of horrible deaths.

Overall though I think I enjoyed the book. It took me a while to figure out if I liked it or not. Like I said, totally different from anything I have ever read before. And not something I would have just picked off the shelf to read myself. But I am glad I read it. It was interesting. It made me think. It made me feel.

So would I recommend it to you? Probably. I would say if you truly enjoy reading and you are looking for a book that is different and interesting, then go for it!! I will warn you, it is not a conservative book. There are a few curse words here and there. The book touches on topics of bullying, suicide, depression, bombings, terrorism, grief, pre-marital sex, broken marriages, and abandonment. In Oskar's words, sometimes it gave me heavy boots. I am glad I read it. I don't regret reading it, and I don't feel like it was a waste of my time. Will I read it again? Maybe. Probably not.

Have you read this book? Any thoughts on it?

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