Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Oskar Schell wears heavy boots.

That's how the little boy at the heart of this moving story describes how he feels when his emotions are just too much. Heavy boots.

This book made me feel like my boots were heavier than I ever imagined.

This is Oskar's story about finding a connection to his dad, who was in the World Trade Center on 911. He's not handling those emotions well - who would, really? - and, reaches out for any way to find the connection he lost that day. He finds a key in his father's closet with a name written on the envelope. Black. Desperate to find someone who knew his dad and could tell him what that key would open, young Oskar decides he needs to meet everyone in the NYC phone book with the last name "Black."  His journey takes him down subways, through boroughs and into people's homes he never imagined.

He's a little boy with quirks, no well-liked or understood. He has a mind far beyond his years and emotions he's clearly not capable of expressing or understanding. He's a really grown-up tiny child. I wanted to swoop Oskar up in my arms or at least help carry him on this journey.

Along the way, we also learn about Oskar's grandmother who lives across the street and a desperate secret about family she's been hiding as well.

This book has been out for years and was made into a movie as well. I really hadn't considered reading it until I heard the author Jonathan Safran Foer on the Dax Shepard podcast "Armchair Expert." Halfway through the interview, I liked this guy so much, I went online and ordered his book! When I went back to the interview, I heard Foer say this was his least favorite book among those he's written! Crap! And, when I started it, I wasn't sure I would finish. It's heavy and meandered a bit and I wasn't sure it was going to end up anywhere that satisfied me.

I'm glad I stuck with it. The second half picked up and the last quarter was exquisite. You don't find joy in this story, but you do find satisfaction. Connection. And truth. And you are reminded about how much in our lives we don't say, even to the people who mean the most. We worry about being too vulnerable; we worry about bringing other people down. And what we don't say often drives us apart.

Warning, though: it will absolutely make you feel those heavy boots.