The Book

A key that has been left behind by Oscar’s dad gets an important role in Oskar’s life. He finds that said key in an envelope addressed to Black. Oskar, being very self-depended, is convinced that the real owner of the key can lead him to the acute answers about his dead father. Oskar’s family has lost his father in the terror attacks of 9/11 and this is the odd reason why he is seemingly introverting but not shy at the same time. He shows his demanding will in deciding to look for the right owner of that mysterious key. So he sets off on an impossible mission to track everybody with the surname “Black”. His trips lead him through the 5 boroughs of NYC.
Finally, Oskar ends his journey where it has begun, at his father’s grave. But now he is accompanied by the silent stranger who has been renting the spare room of his grandmother’s apartment. They are there to dig up his father’s empty coffin. What he doesn’t know is that this strange guy is his actual grandfather, a person Oskar has often longed to meet. “I don’t figure out that he was my grandpa, not even in the deep parts of my brain. But I must have understood something, I must have, I should have.”, Oskar admits in the last few pages.
Oskar ends his thoughts with what would have happened if everything had gone reverse. He predicts sadly, that they would have been safe.

About the Author

Jonathan Safran Foer, born in 1977 (Washington, D.C.), attended Princeton University where he was awarded with many diplomas. Now, he lives with his wife in Brooklyn, NYC and is still very keen on writing books.
He has been published in the Paris Review, Conjunctions and The New York Times with his short stories, such as “A Primer for the Punctuation of Heart Disease” and “The Sixth Borough”, while this short story stems from Foer’s second novel, “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close”.
His first novel, “Everything is Illuminated”, has been acknowledged by many famous critics. Both novels will also be released in form of movies because the rights have already been bought. In his novels he shows his special ability in portraying characters on a mission.
Due to the fact that he is Jewish, he attempts to work up the terrible time of the Holocaust and has been awarded with the Jewish Book prize for “Everything Is Illuminated”. In his second novel he deals with the social effects and impact of the 9/11 terror attacks. The protagonist, 9-year-old Oscar Schell, who has lost his dad in the attacks, is wandering through the 5 boroughs of NY and is sent on a seemingly never-ending mission.

Foer’s Methods of Writing

Interwoven into the story are memories of Oskar’s grandparents, about the emotional troubles they brought with them to the New World from Dresden, Germany. In Dresden where they were witness to the horrors of war, they had to live their poor childhood. Oskar’s grandparents lived a marriage of uncomfortable circumstances. When grandpa decides to go back to Dresden where his true love is waiting for him, grandma breaks down and is an emotional wreck. Though, grandpa returns and rents incognito the spare room of grandma. “I regret that it takes a life to learn how to live, Oskar. Because if I were able to live my life again, I would do things differently,” grandmother says in a letter to her grandson. They even divide their apartment in “Nothing” and” Something” parts where they can hide from their outside world and problems.
The book does include a spine-chilling scene from Hiroshima. “Nine out of ten significant people have to do with money or war,” a character in the book notices. Foer’s handling of 9/11 is done with respect and grace without exploit the horrific tragedy.
As with his earlier novel, Foer uses many inventive ways to draw a clear line between the voices of his characters. Grandpa Schell leaves blank pages because speech has deserted him, Grandma’s letters are overloaded with spaces in between them and the book is illustrated with a few pictures of Oskar’s dreams and hopeful desires.

My Opinion

With this new novel, Foer has firmly established himself as a true artist. I really fancy his way of writing. For my part, I do like it when the storytellers take turns and the methods often alternate.
Furthermore, this novel has indeed an impact on my mind and idea of the terror attacks of 9/11. The smart little Oskar Schell is one of my favourite characters for his readiness to reveal his dead dad’s secrets. In the end of the book, everything comes crashing down on him, what is very moving. No secrets and no treasures. But while traveling around, he found out that his dad was an honest and important person who always attempted to be the best father in the world. So one of the book’s topic is of course idolism and the fatherly myths.
The best thing about the book is also the historical background: Using a parallel story, Foer, develops the lives of Oskar’s grandparents, who were also suffering during their childhood in the Dresden Firestorm of 1945.