|
Journal Entry 1 by msjoanna from Columbia, Missouri USA on Friday, August 24, 2007
 Reserved for krin511 from the reverse wishlist relay.
From School Library Journal
Oskar Schell is not your average nine-year-old. A budding inventor, he spends his time imagining wonderful creations. He also collects random photographs for his scrapbook and sends letters to scientists. When his father dies in the World Trade Center collapse, Oskar shifts his boundless energy to a quest for answers. He finds a key hidden in his father's things that doesn't fit any lock in their New York City apartment; its container is labeled "Black." Using flawless kid logic, Oskar sets out to speak to everyone in New York City with the last name of Black. A retired journalist who keeps a card catalog with entries for everyone he's ever met is just one of the colorful characters the boy meets. As in Everything Is Illuminated (Houghton, 2002), Foer takes a dark subject and works in offbeat humor with puns and wordplay. But Extremely Loud pushes further with the inclusion of photographs, illustrations, and mild experiments in typography reminiscent of Kurt Vonnegut's Breakfast of Champions (Dell, 1973). The humor works as a deceptive, glitzy cover for a fairly serious tale about loss and recovery. For balance, Foer includes the subplot of Oskar's grandfather, who survived the World War II bombing of Dresden. Although this story is not quite as evocative as Oskar's, it does carry forward and connect firmly to the rest of the novel. The two stories finally intersect in a powerful conclusion that will make even the most jaded hearts fall.
|
|
Journal Entry 2 by msjoanna from Columbia, Missouri USA on Thursday, October 11, 2007
I absolutely loved this book. I'm glad that I waited until my memories of 9/11 were a little less fresh to read this book, though. If I'd read it when it was first published, I'm not sure I would have been able to finish it. I'll be recommending this book to everyone.
It's now on it's way to krin511 who has been waiting for quite a while for it from the reverse wishlist relay.
|
|
Journal Entry 4 by krin511 from Olney, Maryland USA on Saturday, November 29, 2008
This was a very moving and complicated book about a boy trying to make sense of the world in his own unique way. I especially liked the alternating storylines between Oskar's search for the lock and his grandparent's experiences in World War II and afterwards. I also liked the use of photographs in the book.
|
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close: A Novel
