Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close: A Novel

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.

BUY THE BOOK

Published Apr 4, 2006

368 pages

Average rating: 7.63

146 RATINGS

|

These clubs recently read this book...

Boozy Broads Book Club (Women 40+)

Women 40+ meet up at a wine bar in West Hollywood. We take turns picking diverse books and leading the discussion. Welcome!

Just One More Chapter Book Club

An ONLINE ONLY book club for anyone and everyone! All are welcome.


Genres included in our reading:

Mystery/Thriller

Romance

Historical Fiction

YA Fiction

Romance

Women's Fiction

General Fiction


Genres NOT INCLUDED:

Science Fiction

Fantasy

Non-Fiction


Discussions through posts and Zoom chats.

Read the Classics

A book club for the moment, and also for the ages. 📚 If you're an avid reader of classic literature and looking for fellow bookworms to discuss it with then you came to the right place!

Community Reviews

What Bookclubbers are saying about this book

✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI

Readers say *Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close* deeply explores grief and family bonds through a young boy’s poignant quest, offering emotional inte...

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.
Buildbridges
Dec 10, 2025
6/10 stars
It's kind of hard to give a bad review about a book about 9/11 but this one was a struggle for me. The premise of story was good; a young boy finds his father's key and determines to find the lock. It was hard to follow the many characters and their stories. It did come together at the end but it took a lot for me to get through it. I will say I listened to the audiobook so that may be the reason it was difficult.
Gwendola
Nov 30, 2025
10/10 stars
I found it strangely enjoyable
Pferdina
Sep 11, 2025
8/10 stars
I thought this novel was very curious. I liked the story about Oskar and his search for information about his father. The parallel story about his grandparents was also good, though not as interesting to me.
Suzanne82
Aug 16, 2025
10/10 stars
This is a wow book. Beautifully written, beautifully organized, beautiful pages, beautiful story.

See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.