extremely loud and incredibly close book

We agreed the rawness and ‘realness’ of the pain expressed by Oskar that it was quite hard to read, and was very moving, likewise the incapacity of all of the main characters to express their emotions to one another or even to themselves. The blend of grief with the humour of the daily interactions of the characters made us realise that the intensity of loss and grief occurring alongside beauty and wit can both offset the pain and make it sharper, a literary ploy but also true in life. The scrapbook-like format made it engaging and we loved how some of the typographical resources were exclusive to a book format and would be lost in any other medium, for instance, audiobook, or film. Whilst none of us completely loved the novel, most of us liked it and everyone found something to genuinely appreciate within it.

Grandfather, grandmother, and Oskar all present their life stories and their experiences of love and grief. Scattered with letters from family members and famous people who Oskar admires, and accompanied by images, drawings and scribbles, the novel portrays the complex family relations of three generations of Jewish people, from Dresden to New York and from the bombing of a city during World War II to terrorist attacks.

The search for the lock takes him all over New York City, where he meets people from all walks of life all of whom are dealing with the loss of a loved one in different- sometimes bizarre- ways. Oskar believes that this is a puzzle that his dad set him. Oskar Schell is a nine-year-old with a mission to find the lock which fits a key his dad left in an envelope in a vase in a closet before he died. Seven of us met to discuss this novel of grief, loss, humour, hope and healing in which family history, detective story, and letter writing mix. The novel follows Oskar, a precocious nine-year-old boy coming to terms with the death of his father who was killed in the attack on the World Trade Centre in September 2001. RAD Book Club’s fourth read this series and the first in the New Year was the novel Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by New York-based novelist and teacher of creative writer Jonathan Safran Foer. RAD Book Club review: Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close Quality assurance, enhancement & compliance.Pathway to RAD Registered Teacher Status (RTS).Professional Dancers’ Postgraduate Teaching Certificate.Master of Arts in Education (Dance Teaching).Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Dance.

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Extremely loud and incredibly close book