Relax & Read: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Sunday is the perfect day to spend all afternoon in bed, curled up with that novel you’ve been meaning to read. And if you don’t already have one (or a billion!) on your reading list, I’m here to help!

I first read Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, in 2005 when I picked it up to flip through and saw all the markings, colors, photos, and overall unique format. At first, I actually thought someone had taken a red pen to someone’s novel in the middle of the store, but then I realized it was printed that way, and I was immediately entranced.

Tragically losing his father in the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Oskar—a curious nine-year-old genius—finds a key, and travels all over New York City trying to find where it might belong.

The tale is touching, mournful, and challenging (one of the most challenging for me was when Foer contrasts 9/11 with Hiroshima and Nagasaki), yet the novel’s innocence remains within Oskar’s reality.

I would definitely recommend it, but it’s not intended for the soft-hearted. In fact, I would recommend the movie adaption as well—but even I have to admit I sobbed throughout the entire film. (I was so emotionally attached to Oskar already, and seeing his tale unfold on the big screen touched me deeply). This book, to this day, is the only novel to ever make me cry—really—and every time I read certain parts, I get shivers all over. If you want a novel that will truly take your emotions on an adventure with a nine-year-old as your guide, then pick this one up. (Click here to read more!)

But I’m leaving you (because I’m going to go read now!) with one of my favorite quotes from this novel:

“Literature was the only religion her father practiced, when a book fell on the floor he kissed it, when he was done with a book he tried to give it away to someone who would love it.”

~SAT