I would like to talk about New York once more, because visiting Ground Zero had such an impact on me. Therefore this book blog, with a story about the 9/11 attacks.
In this case fiction. A moving story about a 9 year old boy whose father happened to be in one of the Twin Towers and never made it back home again. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer.
What do you do when you find a key between the personal items of your deceased father in an envelope with the letters Black written on it. Start looking for the lock. At least that is what Oskar did, the main character in this book. Oskar had a very good relationship with his father, who always challenged Oskar with riddles and other research quests. The extraordinarily smart Oskar makes a plan, maps out a route through New York and starts his search. A search that keeps the boy occupied in order to process the great loss of his father.
In addition to Oskar’s search, the book includes another story line. Namely that of his grandfather and grandmother, the parents of Oskar’s father. Both fled to the US after the bombing of Dresden. It is again moving to see how they deal with the fact that they have lost a loved one during a horrific event.
Well, what makes this book so special? The writing style, or rather, different writing styles. As well as from Oskar’s perspective and that of his grandfather and grandmother, the writing style changes with each character. You will dissappear into that person’s mind in its own peculiar way. Skilled and fascinating.
Not only the writing style is special in this book, but certainly also the layout. Pages with just one sentence, pieces of text in which words are circled in red, the most bizarre photos, pages with only numbers, empty pages, coloured notepads or normal text, but repeatedly typed over each other, eventually leaving only a black page.
The book is original, at times very funny, but especially very touching. It could just be that tears are rolling down your cheeks with laughter as well as from crying when reading the same page. A book that you must have read and you will never forget.
Click on this link to buy the book on The Bookdepository. Or click on the book below to buy on Amazon.
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