Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (Novel, 2005) - Review

A heartbreakingly poignant novel about love, loss and moving on, all told from the perspective of a nine year-old polymath.

To say the least, I was very surprised by this novel. I should clear it up beforehand that I pretty much loathed the 2011 film adaptation of the book, even more so considering the fact that it was nominated for best picture at the Oscars that year. But, all prejudice about the film aside, this is, when viewed singularly, a very interesting piece of writing.

We are narrated to by the stream-of-consciousness first-person narrative of Oskar Schell, a nine-year old who lives in New York with his mother. Early on we are made aware that they are still living in the wake of the attacks that occurred several years previous, in which Oskar's father tragically died. For such a young person Oskar is very intelligent, almost tragically so at times, and it seems apparent that there is also some psychological imbalance in his personality.

Then, one day, Oskar knocks a blue vase from a high shelf and smashes it to pieces. At first, Oskar is terrified about what he's done - but then he notices the envelope scattered among the pieces, with the word 'Black' written across the front. Inside there is just one thing; a key. And so, Oskar does what anyone else would do in such a situation; he sets off to find out which of New York's 162 million locks the key belongs to. Thus, the story follows what happens when Oskar begins knocking on the doors of New York residents with the name 'Black', which queues heartwarming encounters with a range of New York's variety of citizens.

Foer has essentially mastered his own form of prose, the kind narrated from the perspective of a nine year old boy. Obviously, stylistic tendencies and aspects of form are shaped around this experimental concept. Passages of dialogue between Oskar and the people he meets are confined to single paragraphs, perfectly complimenting the back and forth dialogue and adding a welcome sense of humour and lightheartedness to the story. Many passages in particular show real talent on Foer's behalf, as the writing is almost painfully honest at times, especially a certain scene in which Oskar attempts word association with a psychiatrist, which is so well written it was an utter joy to read.

Alongside Oskar's story is a parallel narrative in which we are told the stories of Oskar's grandparents when they were younger and in the midst of the Dresden firebombings. Their story is as emotionally crunching as Oskar's is, if not more, as it gives an insight into the kind of heartbreaking lifestyles people can live in the wake of terrible tragedies.

With further regards to form, the novel does adopt a heavily impressionistic style at times. Black and white pictures are frequently used with relation to the events of the story, as well as short sentences that are placed in the centre of blank pages. The appearances of these aspects of the novel gave it an air of being pretensious; they seem like the kinds of things placed into the book specifically for the purpose of being analysed by academics, rather than because they evoke some true relevance and meaning to the work.

But aside from the indecipherably impressionistic and somewhat unncessasry aspects of the work, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is a novel that is both wonderful and heartbreaking. It's a unique piece of writing and a genuine joy to read.