Scan barcode
kathydavie's review against another edition
4.0
This is a fictional look from one child's perspective after his father was killed in the bombings at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.
A metaphor for all the families who lost a loved one. The horror of 9/11 in particular; the disasters that befall any family in general.
My Take
This was so incredibly sad; I cried and cried and cried and… I'm still not sure...oh, I don't know if I liked it or hated it. Oskar had such a great dad. And, I'm crying again just thinking about this.
Oskar and his dad had such terrific rituals they enjoyed together; they were amazing. They spent time with each other. Thomas challenged his son, questioned and encouraged him. I loved it.
Then came 9/11. And Oskar's dad died.
It was the phone messages that really hit home for me.
As for Oskar himself, I found myself laughing out loud at his constantly active mind. He has the most amazing imagination and the most horrible fears. A combination that causes him to "invent" all sorts of gadgets and hopes, dreams and wishes. He wants everyone around him to be safe, to be happy, to be protected.
I absolutely adored how Foer got inside the mind of this nine-year-old. His thoughts, dreams, most of all his perceptions of what is happening around him. I liked how Foer used the photographs and illustrations in here as well. It certainly fit in with the oddity of this novel!
Oskar's loss is not the only one in this family. There's the secondary story about his grandma's loss in World War II in the bombing of Dresden. Her loss when she learned she was pregnant with Oskar's dad, Thomas.
It was truly irritating that Foer included this past history about the grandparents as it was only in bits and pieces. They're both such odd ducks. Grandma and her Nothing and Something spaces. Thomas, Senior, and his animals and inability to speak. His sculpture. Why did he even bother to see her, let alone marry her?
Nor did I adore the stream of conscious writing with no breaks, no indication as to whose point-of-view I was reading. It took awhile into each new section before I could determine if I was reading about Oskar, grandma, Anna, or grandfather. It frustrated me, confused me...
...and perhaps that was the point. It certainly emphasized Oksar's constant thought processing. It may have been meant to show us how unchanging human worries are.
All the loose ends that Foer left drove me nuts. What happened to Mr. Black from 6A? Why did Thomas (senior) not speak? What happened the second time he "left"? Where did the need for Nothing come from? What happened to the jewelry store after Thomas left/Thomas died?
The Cover
I LOVE the cover. But then I'm a sucker for fooling around with words, making them fit a shape. And fitting the title, the author's name, and a quick tagline inside this hand is so appropriate, bringing to mind Thomas Schell, Senior, and his YES / NO.
I haven't a clue as to what inspired the title. Perhaps the bombing of the Twin Towers was Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. It could be a reference to, or include, the bombing of Dresden which affected so many. It could be Oskar's fears...
A metaphor for all the families who lost a loved one. The horror of 9/11 in particular; the disasters that befall any family in general.
My Take
This was so incredibly sad; I cried and cried and cried and… I'm still not sure...oh, I don't know if I liked it or hated it. Oskar had such a great dad. And, I'm crying again just thinking about this.
Oskar and his dad had such terrific rituals they enjoyed together; they were amazing. They spent time with each other. Thomas challenged his son, questioned and encouraged him. I loved it.
Then came 9/11. And Oskar's dad died.
It was the phone messages that really hit home for me.
As for Oskar himself, I found myself laughing out loud at his constantly active mind. He has the most amazing imagination and the most horrible fears. A combination that causes him to "invent" all sorts of gadgets and hopes, dreams and wishes. He wants everyone around him to be safe, to be happy, to be protected.
I absolutely adored how Foer got inside the mind of this nine-year-old. His thoughts, dreams, most of all his perceptions of what is happening around him. I liked how Foer used the photographs and illustrations in here as well. It certainly fit in with the oddity of this novel!
Oskar's loss is not the only one in this family. There's the secondary story about his grandma's loss in World War II in the bombing of Dresden. Her loss when she learned she was pregnant with Oskar's dad, Thomas.
It was truly irritating that Foer included this past history about the grandparents as it was only in bits and pieces. They're both such odd ducks. Grandma and her Nothing and Something spaces. Thomas, Senior, and his animals and inability to speak. His sculpture. Why did he even bother to see her, let alone marry her?
Nor did I adore the stream of conscious writing with no breaks, no indication as to whose point-of-view I was reading. It took awhile into each new section before I could determine if I was reading about Oskar, grandma, Anna, or grandfather. It frustrated me, confused me...
...and perhaps that was the point. It certainly emphasized Oksar's constant thought processing. It may have been meant to show us how unchanging human worries are.
All the loose ends that Foer left drove me nuts. What happened to Mr. Black from 6A? Why did Thomas (senior) not speak? What happened the second time he "left"? Where did the need for Nothing come from? What happened to the jewelry store after Thomas left/Thomas died?
The Cover
I LOVE the cover. But then I'm a sucker for fooling around with words, making them fit a shape. And fitting the title, the author's name, and a quick tagline inside this hand is so appropriate, bringing to mind Thomas Schell, Senior, and his YES / NO.
I haven't a clue as to what inspired the title. Perhaps the bombing of the Twin Towers was Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. It could be a reference to, or include, the bombing of Dresden which affected so many. It could be Oskar's fears...
gadicohen93's review against another edition
4.0
Finished it a few days ago, and realized that although it was so effing sadness-inducing and teary and just plain emotionally packing, this book was not perfect.
Sadly. Because I thought that Everything Is Illuminated was pretty much close to perfect. And while Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close was totally in-yo-face awesome and incredible and powerful, it didn't really get to that five-star level. Maybe 4.7 star level, but not 5. But because everyone else already discussed what makes this book amazing, I'm going to rant about the specific things that might make this book less amazing.
For one, Oskar kind of... irritated me. Sort of like someone with a really awkward rash. The rash being his precocious know-it-allness, his ability to process ideas that are really, really impressive--even though the entire book basically deals with his inability to process emotions. In EIL, the characters were believable; in ELIC, they were interesting and a constant source of pathos, but not strictly believable.
A part of it, I guess, is the kind of magical realism storytelling that Foer likes to streak through the book. Not like it's totally apparent, but many elements were very magic-ky and bizarre; Oskar going on a 5-borough journey every week with his old, deaf neighbor to find every person whose last name is Black, a man tattoos No and Yes on his hands because he becomes mute, etc, etc. Not the most realistic junk, for a book that yearns to serve as commentary on a real-life catastrophe.
So yeah, I felt pretty ambivalent about this whole magic realism thing.
Finally, Foer does this thing that kind of annoys me. My friend does it too--he makes a list of really intelligent-sounding insights that sound really cool and literary-like and then incorporates them into a piece of narrative. This book is basically that--a narrative within which exist little gems that we can all relate to that just read off the page awesomely.
Sorry, not the most labored-over review. Just my thoughts.
But yeah. Read this book! It's great and beautiful and so many things in it made me go "ahh" and "bahh" and "aww" and a silent tear washing down my cheek. Yeah, it's that kind of a book. And even though it will be a page-turner, don't expect it to totally demolish your world.
Sadly. Because I thought that Everything Is Illuminated was pretty much close to perfect. And while Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close was totally in-yo-face awesome and incredible and powerful, it didn't really get to that five-star level. Maybe 4.7 star level, but not 5. But because everyone else already discussed what makes this book amazing, I'm going to rant about the specific things that might make this book less amazing.
For one, Oskar kind of... irritated me. Sort of like someone with a really awkward rash. The rash being his precocious know-it-allness, his ability to process ideas that are really, really impressive--even though the entire book basically deals with his inability to process emotions. In EIL, the characters were believable; in ELIC, they were interesting and a constant source of pathos, but not strictly believable.
A part of it, I guess, is the kind of magical realism storytelling that Foer likes to streak through the book. Not like it's totally apparent, but many elements were very magic-ky and bizarre; Oskar going on a 5-borough journey every week with his old, deaf neighbor to find every person whose last name is Black, a man tattoos No and Yes on his hands because he becomes mute, etc, etc. Not the most realistic junk, for a book that yearns to serve as commentary on a real-life catastrophe.
So yeah, I felt pretty ambivalent about this whole magic realism thing.
Finally, Foer does this thing that kind of annoys me. My friend does it too--he makes a list of really intelligent-sounding insights that sound really cool and literary-like and then incorporates them into a piece of narrative. This book is basically that--a narrative within which exist little gems that we can all relate to that just read off the page awesomely.
Sorry, not the most labored-over review. Just my thoughts.
But yeah. Read this book! It's great and beautiful and so many things in it made me go "ahh" and "bahh" and "aww" and a silent tear washing down my cheek. Yeah, it's that kind of a book. And even though it will be a page-turner, don't expect it to totally demolish your world.
mchake's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
dsinocruz's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
awkward_bee's review against another edition
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
angryginger's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
chapita4's review against another edition
1.0
I wanted to like this book, and I think it could have been really great but I was too distracted by the authors noisy brain. Was it Something or Nothing? It had such potential to be a good story but I had hard time getting past all the symbolism and abstractness. I found it irritating to slog through the chapters that were flipping back and forth between the little boys story and his grandparents, and don't get me started on the blank pages or the pages with one tiny sentence or photo. Although I like a family of eccentric neurotics as much as the next person I couldn't get to know these people enough to like them.
emilywthomas's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
emmiddleton's review against another edition
challenging
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0