Isn’t it so weird how the number of dead people is increasing even though the earth stays the same size, so that one day there isn’t going to be room to bury anyone anymore? The fascinating thing was that I read in National Geographic that there are more people alive now than have died in all of human history. In other words if everyone wanted play Hamlet at once, they couldn’t because there aren’t enough skulls!
One of the most overused devices in modern literature – the misunderstood prodigy – is oftentimes the protagonist of a tacky story riddled with bad dialogue and a shallow plot. Stepping out of this crowded box is Jonathan Safran Foer, the author of “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.” When the confusing plot of his first novel, Everything is Illuminated, comes to mind, some say Jonathan Safran Foer’s characters ramble about philosophical nothings and are completely unbelievable. They are wrong.
In his second novel, Foer writes with accurate and almost nostalgic detail the life of an 11-year-old boy whose father, Thomas Schell, died in 9/11. Fret not: there isn’t an iota of cheesy Hallmark moments or tear-inspiring passages that resemble that of a less admirable Oprah book. This young man, Oskar, is an eccentric prodigy with an anti-Oedipan complex. He misses his father and cannot understand his mother. He constantly thinks of inventions to keep his mind off his father’s death.
While mourning in his father’s closet, Oskar finds a beautiful blue vase. Trying to retrieve it, he accidentally breaks it. Amidst the shattered remains there lies an envelope labeled “black” on the back and containing an old key. Here, Oskar’s journey to get closer to his father’s memory begins. When Oskar is not at school rehearsing for the “Hamlet” play or taking pictures of things he finds unique, he istrying to solve the mystery of the key. After checking every lock in his house, Oskar remembers the envelope. He opens a phonebook and starts his search with Abby Black. He goes from Queens to Manhattan, trying to find someone who may have had some kind of connection with his father.
During his adventures, Oskar’s grandmother coincides with Oskar’s tale. As he did in “Everything is Illuminated,” Foer has created an array of main characters who tell their tale in their own ways with their own distinct voices. Oskar searches for the answer to the lock. His grandmother writes letters addressed to no one.
An old man who can’t speak but has Yes and No tattooed on his hands writes letters to his two sons, one of which died before he was born. These characters connect in more ways than one by the end of the story, which is not complex at all for the average college student with some free time.
“Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” is essentially a lighter version of “Everything is Illuminated” with three narrators instead of several.
Is it better? Apples and oranges, I say. Both are fantastic and need to be read with maturity, an open mind, and as soon as humanly possible.

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