Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close: A Novel

Name: Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close: A Novel
Rating: 7.59 (175 reviews)
ISBN: 9780618711659

A funny, uplifting coming-of-age story about a boy’s journey through New York in the aftermath of September 11th from one of today’s most celebrated writers.

Nine-year-old Oskar Schell embarks on an urgent, secret mission that will take him through the five boroughs of New York. His goal is to find the lock that matches a mysterious key that belonged to his father, who died in the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11. This seemingly impossible task will bring Oskar into contact with survivors of all sorts of an exhilarating, affecting, often hilarious, and ultimately healing journey. With humor, tenderness, and awe, Jonathan Safran Foer confronts the traumas of our country’s difficult history.

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Published Apr 4, 2006

368 pages

Average rating: 7.59

175 RATINGS

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What Bookclubbers are saying about this book

✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI

Readers say *Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close* offers a deeply emotional and compassionate exploration of grief and family through a young boy’s un...

Jcallaghan

Feb 17, 2026

6/10 stars

I really wanted to love this book. The writing style was not my favorite. I felt like thoughts ran into each other and the chapters switch back and forth between different narrators and the whole time I'm wondering what's the point. I did enjoy reading it from the perspective of a young child and how he dealt with the aftermath of losing his father to such a tragic event. In the end it all came together but I wished it happened earlier in the book.

Erica

Jul 02, 2026

10/10 stars

What a wonderful read! It is written beautifully and with such an unusual voice. The style reminded me of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time with many asides and facts, but there is so much compassion in the prose that I hate to link them together! It was such a painful pleasure to read!

pumpkinfreckles

Jun 11, 2026

6/10 stars

I'm glad I read this. At points it was incredibly hard to get through. I liked the idea of a book about 9/11 told from the perspective of someone who lost a loved one and how it affected them. There were parts in this book that seem to have nothing to do with anything. And that's okay, I mean, life is sometimes like that, but, um, it's a book and can be edited, unlike LIFE. So as I said I'm glad I read it and I will look forward to the movie when it's on DVD. It's good to remember, because it's so easy to forget. Our book club should have and extremely good discussion about this.

foreveryum

May 20, 2026

4/10 stars

This book is about a very strange family in the wake of 9/11. I think the author probably wanted me to think that this family is quirky & endearing, but I just was not in the right headspace for that. The main protagonist is a troubled 9 year old who is processing his father's death by doing some very weird nonsense tasks that were just too neurotic for me. It was a lovely ode to New York City oddballs though.

Casey O

Apr 20, 2026

6/10 stars

Trying at times: the grandparents were the best part.