Book Recommendation: EXTREMELY LOUD & INCREDIBLY CLOSE by Jonathan Safran Foer
Published in 2005 by Houghton Mifflin, 326 pp.*
Oskar Schell is a nine-year-old struggling with his grief after his father dies in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. One day as he is going through some of his father’s belongings, he finds a key with a very, very small clue which sends him throughout New York to find what the key unlocks. His desperate search keeps his father close as searches for impossible answers on one last scavenger hunt his father unknowingly provides.
Wow. Just wow. This story is so unique. It is told mostly through Oskar’s point of view as well as through letters by his grandparents. There are also pictures inserted along the way as Oskar talks about pictures he has saved. The dialogue is jammed in every line with no breaks in between. That took a little getting used to but it really put me in a nine-year-old’s frame of mind. Oskar has a very high IQ (readers aren’t told that but it is inferred from his level of thought) and what he says can at times blow you away that it came from a child. But his stark adult-like honesty is well-balanced by the fragile state of his emotions. His pain is so palpable it makes you want to reach through the pages and hug him forever.
A subplot is revealed through his grandparents letters to each other, to Oskar’s father, and to Oskar. Their oddities had me scratching my head yet I sped through the pages to get to the heart of their story. Oskar’s mother was basically non-existent, hovering on the edge of child neglect. This bothered me quite a bit until the author shined a brighter light as to why she was on the fringe. The author did a great job of stringing me along. I needed to find out where the pieces of the story fit together and he artfully illuminated more and more of the story to complete my understanding.
I recommend reading this book simply for the unique point of view. It was such a creative way to tell a story that fully expressed the pain, the heartbreak, the desperation, the yearning, the sorrow, and the resignation of those immediately impacted by this horrific event in our country’s history.
This was picked by my book club to read and I can’t wait to hear what my gals thought of it.
If you liked LIFE OF PI by Yann Martel, I highly recommend this book.
*The movie based on this book came out in theaters January 20th and you may have seen some of the previews. The impressive cast includes Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, Max Von Sydow, and John Goodman.
I hand wrote the first draft of this book review before I typed it up. Did you honor National Handwriting Day on Monday? If so, how?
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I'm a midwest gal living vicariously through books, writing, her crazy family, and a few great friends. My blog covers all of the above as I attempt to figure out what the hell I'm doing at any given moment. Follow me:
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This is one of those books that I kept seeing all over the place, but still haven’t read yet. I’ll put it on my TBR pile (along with Life of Pi). I do enjoy unique points of view… reading them helps stir the creative juices for my own writing (like ‘hey, I didn’t realize I could do that!’). Did you see the movie yet? How do you compare the two (or is that another blog post)?
Good job—doing some handwriting yesterday! I dedicated a post to the day and even hand wrote something for the blog picture.
I have not seen the movie yet. I think that is going to be a book clubbie outing here soon! i was able to jump on my library’s web page and put a copy on hold as soon as my friend told us she had picked it for the next book club meeting. This was right before the movie trailer came out. I was maybe 8th on the hold list then. I just went back on the site to look and there are 177 holds for the 6 copies the library owns. Yowza!
I think I’ll toss this one out to my book club and see if they are interested!
It is a very different kind of book but I think worth the read. Let me know what they think if you do end up reading it! Thanks for the comment!
I just read this morning that the movie based on the book was nominated for best picture… wonder, do you know, did it stay close to the book? It sounds fascinating and I’ll definitely add it to my list! (p.s. I FORGOT about national handwriting day, UGH. And so, the only writing I did was a few notes on my WIP draft. I guess that’s SOMETHING…)
Hey, something is better than nothing! I have not yet seen the movie but I think some of the gals from the book club will go once everyone is done reading it. The writing style is SO unique that it will really make you think as a writer and boggle your mind as a reader. Strange yet cool. XO
I definitely want to check this book out after reading your review. The cover alone is so captivating, and I love being told a story through the eyes of a child (like ROOM!).
This book looks really interesting…will have to pick it up! Have to say I have NOT honored National Handwriting Day…my handwriting is totally hideous!
I REALLY want to see this movie now – and more importantly – read the book first. Like Jolina, the first thing that came to mind from your description of the child’s pov was ROOM (you really, really must read it if you haven’t. Incredible use of a child’s point of view to tell an engaging story). You have lovely handwriting, by the way
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I will definitely be reading this book after this review, Hallie. It sounds wonderful. I loved Life of Pi, and have been on the lookout for something else like it!
I compared it to Life of Pi because of its uniqueness. Melissa’s mention of ROOM is probably more along the lines of a true comparison. But Life of Pi was so different from any book I had read, that EL & IC left me with that same feeling. There is no magic realism like Pi.
I hope that clarifies.
I loved it, too, Hallie! It was so different and unique and not anything that I thought I would be drawn to, so I’m glad it was chosen by our book club. It completely intrigued me and I could NOT put it down.
If it doesn’t work for our book club to go see it together, you and I should go to a matinee on a Weds or Fri while KC is at school!!!