Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, by Jonathan Safran Foer, is one of those books that sticks with you after you’ve read it. It’s a gripping, emotional story reinforcing an important moral: if you love someone, cherish them and tell them every chance you get.
It’s a fictionalized account of a young boy who loses his father on 9/11, and a mission he embarks on to keep the memory of his father alive after his death. From Wikipedia:
The main narrator of the story is an autistic nine-year-old child, Oskar Schell, an intellectually curious and sensitive child of Manhattan progressives whose father died two years earlier on 9/11. He is a pacifist, a vegan, musician (he plays the tambourine), academically-inclined, and above all, earnest. Oskar wanders New York, searching for the meaning of a strange key he finds inside a blue vase in his father’s closet.
The author uses images throughout the book, such as locked doors and keyholes, symbolizing Oskar’s journey. Some of the images were disturbing, though, such as pictures of The Falling Man. The image, used multiple times throughout the book, is an incredibly horrific moment in our collective memories. Some felt that Foer was “cashing in on 9/11” with these images and the general theme of the novel. Personally, I did not take offense. I was enthralled by Oskar’s story, and I feel like the questions he asked could very well have been asked by others who lost loved ones on that day.
I enjoyed this book very much. It was deeply sad, and like I can’t quickly forget Oskar or his story. After I finished the book I saw the film starring Sandra Bullock and Tom Hanks. Though they took some artistic license with the screenplay and significantly changed a few things I felt were important in the book, I think they did an excellent job of translating the story for the movie screen. I was also impressed with the young Thomas Horn, who portrayed Oskar’s grief, anger and curiosity with impeccable accuracy.
I definitely recommend this book but also remind you that it’s not light reading. Make sure you are emotionally ready to absorb this story before diving in. Once you do, let me know your thoughts on the book and/or the film.
