Cover 3

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

2005 • 326 pages

Ratings4

Average rating4.3

15

I accidentally read this just a week or so after the 20th anniversary of 9/11 without knowing this is a book about 9/11 — kismet? I'm so glad I decided to read it, and the timing just added to its emotional heft. There's also some cool experimental writing that was unexpected but totally my jam. The book follows a young boy named Oskar(I don't think it ever says his age, maybe 10?), clearly on the spectrum, who is grieving the death of his father who died in a building on 9/11. This narrative is overlain with the story of his grandparents who were bombed out of Dresden. The generational tragedy mixed with the innocence of a precocious young boy makes for reading that is at once super sad and uplifting. Definitely recommend!

September 30, 2021Report this review