Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

By: Jonathan Safran Foer

Narrated by: Jeff Woodman, Barbara Caruso, Richard Ferrone

Length: 10 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

Jonathan Safran Foer's best-selling debut novel, Everything Is Illuminated, wowed critics on its way to winning several literary prizes, including Book of the Year honors from the Los Angeles Times. It has been published in 24 countries and will soon be a major motion picture. Foer's talent continues to shine in this sometimes hilarious and always heartfelt follow-up.

Nine-year-old Oskar Schell is a precocious Francophile who idolizes Stephen Hawking and plays the tambourine extremely well. He's also a boy struggling to come to terms with his father's death in the World Trade Center attacks. As he searches New York City for the lock that fits a mysterious key his father left behind, Oskar discovers much more than he could have imagined.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is a masterfully imagined novel from an author Time hails as "a certified wunderkind".

©2005 Jonathan Safran Foer (P)2005 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

• 2005 Audie Award Nominee, Multi-Voiced Performance

"Piercing and so funny." (The Bookseller)
"[Oskar's] first-person narration of his journey is arrestingly beautiful, and readers won't soon forget him." (Booklist)
"Jonathan Safran Foer's second novel is everything one hoped it would be: ambitious, pyrotechnic, riddling, and above all...extremely moving. An exceptional achievement." (Salman Rushdie)
"Brilliant....Unafraid to show his traumatized characters' constant groping for emotional catharsis, Foer demonstrates once again that he is one of the few contemporary writers willing to risk sentimentalism in order to address great questions of truth, love, and beauty." (Publishers Weekly)

Delightful and Heart-breaking

Of all of the audio fiction I have listened to, this has been the best so far. Jonathan Safran Foer , the author of the book, is the first genius in creating the delightful character of Oscar Schell, an eccentric, gifted, and sarcastic child who is mature beyond his years, but held back by the boundries of childhood. The actor who reads his character creates a perfect Oscar.
Listening, you are torn by wanting the lighter observations of Oscar, as the plot gets darker and darker, revealing multi-generational tragedy.
Though it is terribly sad in many parts, this book is equally delightful in the eccentricities of Oscar and the Schell family.
You will miss this one when it's over.

Lose track of time

The writing is stylistically similar to "Everything is Illuminated", though is more grounded in reality rather than fantasy. Jonathan Safran Foer has an amazingly fertile imagination, and these readers make his words sing!

Extremely good and incredibly touching

Beautifully read. I was not a fan of his first book but loved this one. It reminded me a lot of his wife's book "The History of Love" in style and pace. Highly recommended.

My Favorite Book, Perfect Narration

This book was one of the few books in my life that has touched my soul and lingered there long after finishing reading it. This book is ART; thoughtfully layered and interwoven to bring the reader on a journey about love, loss, and time.

Loved this book

So interesting, imaginative, deep & tender…
It is a puzzle has to be so courageously solved…

Brilliant moments interspersed with tedium

The bits involving the kid are great. The bits involving the grandmother are tedious. The reading is exceptionally hood which is the only reason i finished the book.

good

so good! loved every minute, oscars journey was compelling. I was on the edge of my seat waiting to find where all the characters ended up!

I WISH I HAD A FRIEND LIKE THE FATHER

What made the experience of listening to Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close the most enjoyable?

SEEING THE DIFFERENT WAYS PEOPLE LEARN.

What did you like best about this story?

UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favorite?

THE FATHER

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

YES

Any additional comments?

THIS BOOK SHOULD BE READ BEFORE CHILDREN ARE BORN.
TEACHES REASON TO BE GRATEFUL FOR EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO SHOW LOVE AND APPRECIATION.

terrific journey

I loved this book
it was a journey of emotions and heartbreak and family love

Heartbreaking and Humorous

Where does Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is one of the best! The narration of this book is simply STELLAR! I felt like I was listening to a movie with top notch actors. Really and truly this was one of the best narrated books I've ever heard.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close?

When the grandmother describes seeing the "worst day ever" play out on TV. Her repetition of the words "...and the planes" brought me to tears.

Which scene was your favorite?

Every scene was my favorite. This story was an incredible tapestry of stories from three generations woven expertly in to a beautiful work of art.

If you could rename Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, what would you call it?

"Jose!" or "Heavy Boots"

Any additional comments?

It's been a while since I've heard a book that was so heartbreaking and amusing at the same time. The main character is a genius of a kid but all so human that you forget that his voice is that of a child trying to make sense of the senseless. The weaving of stories in and out of the main character's story was flawless and poignant. All of the feelings, the thoughts, and the fear when one loses someone so dear to them come through extremely loud and hit incredibly close to home.

As it turns out, I picked this book up last month and finished it 2 days after the anniversary of the worst day ever. I think the timeliness of it made the story even more touching. I don't want to spoil it for anyone who has yet to read the book but I am so glad that I chose to read it when I did.