Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is not an ordinary novel. It requires an active imagination and an open mind. Jonathan Foer uses historical events and tragedies in such a way that could actually make people rethink history altogether. He incorporates the bombing of Dresden, Germany, during World War II, the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, and the planes crashing into the Twin Towers on 9/11 into the lives of one family.

Foer humanizes the characters in such a way that makes the reader go through a variety of emotions. Each chapter brings a new identity to a character. The main character is a nine-year-old boy named Oskar Schell. Oskar is very unique boy. Although he has the quirks of a normal child, he is exceptionally different from his classmates and friends. He loves science, foreign languages, wears only white clothes, and expresses himself in a scrapbook he calls Stuff that Happened to Me. Oskar’s father, Thomas, is killed in the events of 9/11 and his family is deeply affected by his death. No one knows exactly how Thomas died which becomes a great mystery to Oskar and he “invents” possible scenarios in which he was killed. Oskar and his family must adjust to life without Thomas and this story accurately depicts the turmoil that a family could go through in such a hardship.

Oskar’s father was the center of his existence. His father would tell him stories, design Reconnaissance Expeditions so Oskar would have to talk to people, find mistakes in the New York Times together, and generally enjoy life together. After his father died, Oskar was a lost little boy who did not know what to do with his feelings. He resented his mother, loved his grandmother, but especially longed for his father. Oskar did not know how to cope with his emotions, so he would bruise himself when things were difficult for him. He wanted to scream, but said nothing, except on certain occasions when he would take his anger out on his mother. Oskar annoyed many, but captured the hearts of even more, especially his grandmother.

In a desperate attempt to hold onto his father, Oskar searches his parent’s room. He finds a tuxedo that his father wore, but never put away. He notices a blue vase on a high shelf, and is determined to know what is in the vase. Oskar attempts to retrieve the vase, but instead knocks it off of the shelf and the vase shatters on the floor. Oskar discovers an envelope within the glass with the word “black” written in red ink. Inside of the envelope, Oskar finds a key but there is no indication as to what the key is for. This moment gives Oskar hope. Hope to stay close to his father, and a determination to find out why his father had the key.

Oskar discovers that the word “black” is the name of an individual. He sets out to find the person that will unveil the truth about the key and if and how his father is involved. Oskar decides to find every person with the last name of Black in the city of New York. Not only do we learn about the complex character of Oskar, but we learn about the kind nature of the people that he encounters. Each person has their own unique story to add and Oskar is excited to know everything he can about each person.

Oskar’s unique personality is unveiled when he plays an audio recording of an interview with a survivor of the bombing of Hiroshima. The interview is detailed and gruesome and Oskar elaborates on the relationship of the degree of burning with colors. His classmates do not understand his unusual character and Oskar does not know that his grandparents survived a similar experience.

Throughout the story we learn the complexity of Oskar’s family as well. His grandparents grew up in Dresden, Germany, during World War II. Oskar’s grandfather, Thomas Sr. was in love with a young woman named Anna. Anna was the love of his life and they became young lovers. On the last day that Thomas saw Anna, she told him she was pregnant. Dresden was bombed and many lives were lost, including Anna and her unborn child. The other character who suffered from the death of Anna, was her sister who was Oskar’s grandma. Oskar’s grandma’s biggest regret in her life was that she did not tell Anna that she loved her the last time that she saw her. She expressed to her grandson that he should always make sure that the people he loved knew that he loved them.

Oskar’s grandparents moved to New York City and found each other. Thomas did not speak, so he wrote his messages to people, including Grandma, in a notebook. He also tattooed yes on his left hand and no on his right hand so he could answer some questions without having to write them down. Thomas’s relationship with Grandma was based on rules and nothings and somethings. They co-existed, but never really expressed too much emotion toward one another. The number one rule between them is that there can be no children. Grandma becomes pregnant and Grandpa leaves her and his unborn child. She is left alone to take care of the child that she loves more than anything and the child that Grandpa wants to love more than anything. Instead of staying and showing his love to his child, Grandpa wrote a letter everyday for his child.

The grandparent’s story is well described and unexpected. I found myself running through mixed emotions as their back story unfolded. At first glance, Grandpa was selfish and uncaring towards anyone except Anna. He did not talk, and the reason for that was questioned. I can say that I did not expect the reason to be as profound as it turned out to be. Although I do not agree with any one walking out on his or her family, I could understand Grandpa’s need to protect himself. He longed for a woman and a child that he could no longer have, and that would impact anyone negatively. I originally found myself feeling empathy for Grandma and wanting her to find happiness and have a fulfilling life without her husband. Her inability to move on with her life without her husband left me angry and unsympathetic towards her. Her desperation and willingness to take her husband back after so much time had passed caused me to label her as weak. She had little regard for her own personal pride and self respect.

Oskar’s resentment for his mother runs deep in this novel. On the day of his father’s death, she does not pick him up for school. She has him meet her at their apartment. When Oskar gets home, he finds that his father has left several messages on the answering machine. Not wanting his mother to find the messages, he purchases an identical phone and replaces it. He hides the phone with the messages in a scarf which is placed in a bag, which is then placed in a box, which is placed in another box, and then hidden in the bottom of his closet with several items placed on top of the box. Oskar thinks that he hides this from his mom and grandma as he wants to protect them, but he is actually upset with his mother for not hearing the messages first. He is mad that he had to go home by himself to discover the messages by himself.

Oskar’s anger for his mother is completely plausible. He is mad because she does not show what he thinks are valid feelings for his father’s death. She tells him that he reminds her of his father, but Oskar is mad that he does not remind her of himself. Oskar’s mother has a friend, Ron, who Oskar is unhappy with. He is convinced that his mother and Ron are boyfriend and girlfriend, which to him means that she has forgotten about his father. The relationship between Oskar and his mother is extremely unsteady. Oskar is required to attend therapy sessions. At one of the sessions he overhears the therapist telling his mother that he needs to be institutionalized. Oskar’s mother refuses, which gives Oskar a little comfort knowing that his mother defended him and does not think he is completely crazy.

The journey to find the lock uncovers secrets and unusual characters. Oskar meets Mr. Black who lives in the same apartment building as he and his mother does. Mr. Black was born on January 1, 1900. He is unusual that he wears an eye patch and does not leave his apartment. Oskar snoops through his apartment to find that his bed is made of a tree. Oskar tells Mr. Black his story and convinces him to help him track locate the Blacks’ in New York City. Mr. Black and Oskar make an uncanny pair, but both enjoy the time that they spend together.

Mr. Black and Oskar provided each other with companionship. Oskar gives Mr. Black a reason for living and Mr. Black gives Oskar security as well as adult supervision. Oskar and Mr. Black meet Ruth Black on the top of the Empire State Building. She gives them a history lesson of the building and Mr. Black is especially intrigued. Although she is not the Black that they are looking for, Mr. Black finds something about her fascinating and intriguing. Although their journeys together were exciting, Mr. Black does not finish the quest with Oskar. He tells Oskar that he is finished, and Mr. Black quietly vanishes to leave Oskar on his own.

One of the first Blacks’ that Oskar met was Abby Black. Oskar was intrigued by her and really enjoyed her company. Although he felt that she knew more than she was letting on, he moved on to locate the next Black on his list. After several months of searching, he discovers a message on the answering machine from Abby Black. She called and left a message to let Oskar know that she knew more than she told him. When she was leaving the message, Oskar’s mother had picked up the phone and talked to her. She never told Oskar of the conversation and let him believe that she had no idea of what was going on.

Abby Black’s ex-husband, William was the one who ended Oskar’s adventure. After his father had died, he sold everything. His father had left a key for a safety deposit box inside an envelope which was then placed in a blue vase. The blue vase was purchased by Thomas Schell. Thomas had known about the key but was killed before he was able to return the vase to William. Although the mystery was solved, Oskar did not have the answers that he was looking for. As long as he was searching for answers, he felt that he was close to his father. Now he was forced to grieve and focus on his father not being there for him.

Oskar’s grandpa learns of his son’s death and contacts Grandma. She allows him to stay in her guest room under the condition that he never meets Oskar. Grandma tells Oskar and his mother that the man staying in her guest room is the “renter.” Desperate to find his Grandma one day, he meets the “renter.” Oskar tells this man his whole story. He finds comfort in telling someone everything he has been doing, the people he has been meeting, and the end of his journey. After spending time with the man he does not know is really his grandpa, Oskar decides to dig up his father’s coffin, with the help of his grandpa.

Oskar and Grandpa secretly create a plan to dig up Thomas Schell, Jr.’s coffin. They end up at the cemetery in the middle of the night and dig up an empty coffin. Although Oskar knew there would be nothing inside, he was still disappointed. Grandpa finds all the letters that he has ever written to his son, dumps them in the coffin, and the two bury the letters.

The ending of the novel left too many questions. Sometimes I feel that the unknown makes an acceptable ending, this is not one of those times. Oskar does not find any closure. He learns things about his mother that were necessary for him to overcome some of his anger, but I feel cheated. Grandma and Grandpa move to the airport and then what? I wish that the end could have answered more questions for me.

Foer uses the familiarity of grief and loss to capture his audience. The use of catastrophic events, makes the actions of the characters believable and human. Although we sympathize with Oskar, we also see how different he is and how his behavior can be typical of a child his age. The mother’s actions, although frustrating and angering at times, are not too difficult to relate to.

Foer also uses visual examples and pictures to illustrate what the characters are seeing. I sometimes find this distracting and refreshing at the same time. I really enjoyed the words in color. They illustrated exactly what the reader needed to see to believe. The pages where all the words were smashed together, made me feel as though I was missing some valuable information, but maybe that was exactly the point after all.

This is certain a novel that I would have never considered reading on my own, but now that I have, I really think that I need to read it again to understand the complete picture that Foer wanted his audience to see. There are parts that I am still confused by, but understand that the point of this novel is to create a unique and refreshing way to tell a story.