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Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close  By  cover art

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

By: Jonathan Safran Foer
Narrated by: Jeff Woodman, Barbara Caruso, Richard Ferrone
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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)

Featured Article: 15 Essential Jewish Authors to Hear in Audio


The Jewish diaspora is vast, diverse, and full of stories. In recent years, Jewish authors have published books about everything from love, identity, and history to crime, romance, and what it means to come of age in the modern world. While this list is by no means complete, these 15 Jewish authors have written some of the most fascinating Jewish literature, and they represent a deep catalog of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry in a range of genres.

What listeners say about Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

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Not sure what I expected

I'm not sure what I expected from this book, but it certainly surprised me. The dual stories were both engaging and sufficiently mysterious to keep you listening. Overall pretty enjoyable.

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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.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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It grew on me.

The book at first seemed unrealistic and usually I don't like dialog from a child, because, well..., it's childish. This book is different because the child character is uniquely intelligent. Overall, the story is an excellent character study of a complex family.

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Heartbreaking & Heartwarming at the same time

I've seen the movie & listened to the book twice. Oscar is an amazing boy. Go with as he searches for 'clues' from his father. Moving, sad, happy, funny, tear jerking.
Excellent novel.

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Rough. but it finally came together.

I only stuck with this book because I wanted to see if it ever came together. I had a very hard time knowing what was happening as it kept jumping back and forth between people. It did, in the end, come together, but getting to that point was rough.

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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!

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Heart wrenching and funny


A moving story about a family impacted by world events. Performance was excellent. Dark and light at once.

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Captivating

This book is heartbreaking, hilarious, enigmatic, and rings true in so many ways. I HIGHLY recommend!
Unfortunately, in the audio book you miss some things that the print book offers, such as pictures, stylistic editing, etc. The vocal performances have something unique to offer too, and I almost wish I had listened and read simultaneously in order to get the best of both.

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Fantastic listen!!!

Loved this book, the characters and the narrators. A unique story about loss, love and humanity.

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worth reading

Wonderful story and well-written. I am glad I didn't read it sooner, because the sadness would've been too much.

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