Book Review

Rachal Stoll-Moorer
10/01/09
Book Review

One of the greatest benefits from reading Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, a novel by Jonathan Safran Foer, was being able to discuss this novel in a class room setting and see how this book appealed to others not just myself. It allowed for more personal thought and expansion of my classmates thoughts and opinions to develop a really solid understanding of Foer’s reasoning and purpose. I also especially enjoyed reading through and analyzing other author’s who have written about Foer’s work. I will admit that I have not read Foer’s first novel Everything Is Illuminated, but most feel that the comparison between that literary work and this one are miles apart. Mark Oppenheimer, a novelist and journalist wrote in his review, published in the Jewish Journal, that Foer has found his true voice. Of course not all reviews are praise, a review by Harry Siegel revealed Siegel’s problems with the novel, that make the reader question if Siegel ever read the Extremely Loud or Incredibly Close, despite the fact that Siegel has some kind of personal problem with Foer, and people of different race or religious affinity, which totally discredits him as a critic. My reading brings me to the conclusion that Foer is a daring author willing to take risks as a novelist and willing to write the truth about human experiences.
In many of our discussions we were asked do the pictures add or subtract from the novel. My opinion is that they add. I think this is very trend setting for Foer to include in his novel so many blank pages with only one line, pages that are completely blank, pages that have writing that blurr into blackness, pages of coloring and pictures. The art of reading allows the reader to imagine what could be or what is to come and many would say that their imagination has no more use if when to imagine a house that is nothing but the door, frame, lock and keyhole is laying right before you in a picture. Oppenheimer mentions in his critique that these novels are all the rage now a days but I feel that many are still of a very traditional mind set. While I feel that imagination is necessary I feel that Foer is very creative to add these new ideas to his novel. Many people, like me, are very visual learners and I felt that the pictures helped me to not get lost and to feel even more a part of what I was reading.
While I feel that Foer’s creativity in the use of color and pictures has some genius, I feel that the content of the novel spoke volumes. Foer’s use of tragedy to bring out the comedy of a young boy, Oskar Schell, 9 years old who is a pacisfist, an atheist, writes to Stephen Hawkings, wears only white and is so imaginative that it is hard to imagine that he is infact 9 on an adventure to bring himself closer to his father, Thomas Schell who was killed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the “bombing” of the World Trade Centers in New York City. Foer’s set up allowed for the reader to be a part of the tragedy, the comedy and the adventure and to delve into Oskar’s life and the subplots of many well developed characters and their very humanistic truths.
Oskar who is the only person to hear the voice of his father before his death, has found a key with the name Black and has made it his mission to find out to whom the key belongs and how that person knew his father. The words of Oppenheimer echo to me saying that Foer is a master descriptor. Foer’s ability to invent so many Blacks that are of such diversity and significance is incredible and exciting to the audience. While Oskar is on his mission he is also dealing with his mother’s new man friend Ron and coping with his father’s death has brought a barrier between him and his mother. I feel that the reader can really identify with these relationships because so many families lose loved ones one way or another and have to learn to make room for new additions. Children have the hardest job in all of that because they are just learning how to understand relationships between people and it’s always difficult to understand that not everything is black and white.
The other relationship that I enjoyed because of its great literary development was between grandpa and grandma. In the beginning all we know is that grandpa has left grandma, not how, when or why. As the novel progresses the reader learns that grandpa left forty years ago. He never met his son, Thomas Schell Jr., because he left grandma before Thomas was born. We learn about the struggle between grandma and grandpa, their nothing places, grandpa’s need for escape, grandma’s need to be loved, and the rules that they made: no children. These characters make a journey through the novel that is completely full circle. I felt that both characters were so realistic it was hard to tell if it was a novel anymore or a life story. Foer used these characters to help guide Oskar through his journey, but also to talk to his audience as his voice. In the end Oskar is able to find some closure, I would have preferred more, but it’s also sometimes nice to use your imagination and find a new chapter somewhere else.
Through reading our discussions and getting ideas of how our class felt about the novel, someone mentioned that Foer while he has incredible ideas that it was a very subtle novel, they felt that was genius. I couldn’t disagree more it was extremely loud.