“I looked at the caller ID and saw that it was him.” Oskar Schell looked at his house phone and saw it was his father not knowing it would be the last time he would ever hear his father’s voice. Oskar is a young boy whose world turned against him in the attacks on September 11, 2001. Jonathan Safran Foer takes you on a roller coaster of emotions in describing how Oskar deals with the death of his father on 9/11.

“Why didn’t he say goodbye? I gave myself a bruise. Why didn’t he say, “I love you?” After two years of his life without his father, Oskar is still grieving and wondering. Oskar Schell is a very opinionated boy who has to face his childhood without his father. Soon after the death of his father, Oskar looks for closure in his father closet. He finds a key in a yellow envelope with “Black” on the front. He then tries to figure out where this key might lead. Will it lead him closer to his father? Did his father mean to leave something behind for him to find? Is this a clue? Oskar then goes on a miraculous journey around the big city of New York to see if this small key will lead him closer to his father. Throughout the journey, Oskar faces many challenges, new beginnings, & realizations.

Jonathan Safran Foer is a unique author who has a particular way of characterizing the main and minor characters. He describe each and every character that you think you know them by the end of the book. The way he uses figurative language and certain words makes the book come alive.

Overall, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close portrays the true heartbreak and devastation of September 11, 2001.  This book changes your perspective of the attacks and Jonathan Safran Foer really makes you feel for Oskar. Overall, I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars.