Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer (2005)
Extremely Loud and
Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
I’m
going to be completely honest and upfront, this book is extremely awkward. It’s
the story of Oskar Shell and how he heals after his father dies in the
September 11th terrorist attacks. His father had called the apartment more than
once during the attack and Oskar heard the last message but was unable to
answer the phone. Over a year after his father’s death he finds a key in an
envelope in a blue vase and goes on a quest across New York trying to find the
lock the key opens. His only clue is the word Black written on the envelope in
red ink.
The
narrative is what got me with this novel. The author had three different
narrators speaking throughout the book: Oskar, his grandmother and his
grandfather who left his grandmother before his father was born. This story
encompasses all three of them and the events that happened throughout their
lives. The only narrator I ever liked throughout the story was Oskar and his
was the most straightforward of the bunch, which is saying something. The
author never reveals if Oskar is diagnosed with something but it’s obvious by
his writing and some of his expressions that he has a hard time understanding
social cues. He was a very well developed and enjoyable character with a
curious mind that I found extremely endearing. But his grandmother and her
husband’s life never intrigued me. Their chapters, especially early on in the
novel, dragged for me. They brought the story to a halt.
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close was
interesting overall and had some really great imagery but it simply isn’t story
that will resonate with me. There were phrases and expressions that really
caught my attention and that I really enjoyed but this won’t be a favorite of
mine. A lot of this seemed really implausible, especially him journeying around
so much of the city largely unsupervised. I give this novel 3 out of 5 stars. A
book with a narrator different from one I have ever had before but not one that
I would widely recommend.
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