Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

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Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Jonathan Safran Foer
2005

The Summary
Since the death of his father on September 11, 2001, Oskar Schnell has been inventing and cataloging and, in a word, searching - to find meaning, to find answers, to find his father and whatever is left of him.

However, Oskar's life takes an abrupt turn after he discovers a key left by his father and realizes he has one last mystery to solve:  find the lock which belongs to his key and uncover the truth behind his father's final puzzle.

The Good
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is a remarkable story about one boy's search to solve his father's final puzzle and recover his father's memory; however, this story doesn't belong to Oskar alone.

Foer's work is a compilations of notes and stories from survivors:  Oskar's mother, his grandmother, his grandfather, and others, like Abby Black, William Black, Abe Black, who Oskar meets in his search to find the lock that fits his father's mysterious key.  This is a book about surviving trauma, about finding answers, and, maybe, even learning how to live and accept things as they are.

It's a lovely story, but, admittedly, it's an unusual one in its format.  In fact, it reminds me of The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner.  It follows a sort of stream of consciousness format that allows it to better identify with a character's emotional state.  You can visual what Oskar - what all of the characters - feel and you can see what he sees, view the things that speak to him and shape him.

The Bad
I enjoyed seeing through Oskar's eyes, knowing what he felt and what he thought, understanding who he is and why he does what he does.  I liked the insight, even if I wasn't provided with anymore answers than Oskar.  However, I will say that the first-person perspective does have a down-side:  stream of consciousness.

Thought is not always coherent, which means the story will not always retain a coherent pattern.  (Read:  quotation marks are entirely optional, format is malleable, and time is certainly not linear.)  It makes the story unique, yes, but it can also make it slightly confusing.

The Ugly
All the characters you meet are survivors of some terrible trauma.  Whether World War II, September 11, or personal family tragedy, each character endures loss and endures the repercussions of that loss, including the void that is left behind.

And when they can't cope, when they can't endure, it's emotionally jarring to witness.