Hello my dear readers and welcome to the new year!
Reading “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close“ by Jonathan Safran Foer opened up a lot of new perspectives to me regarding 9/11 and the way how every person deals differently with trauma. The book tells the story of the nine-year old Oskar Schell who loses his dad in the tragedy of 9/11. After his father’s death Oskar finds a mysterious key in his dad’s closet which is the beginning of a great adventure across New York but also the story of how Oskar deals with his trauma. Parallel to Oskar’s story Foer tells the story of Oskar’s grandparents who are both traumatized by the Dresden Bombings in World War II. Silence is a constant component in both stories. Oskar can not talk or open up to anyone about his trauma and gives himself bruises as a punishment. Oskar’s grandfather loses his voice through the traumatic loss of his first wife and Oskar’s grandmother’s older sister Anna. He communicates through writing down what he wants to say.
I think it is really interesting to see how the characters develop over time and how the story develops from no communication to communication between the characters.
I think the book teaches a great lesson on how people deal with trauma and how confrontation can open new doors in situations which seem hopeless. Though there was a question that came to my mind. Oskar’s story is not based on Foer’s own experience. Foer has not experienced the loss his characters have experienced in his book. Does that make his message less authentic or did the book actually help people to understand their trauma better?
How did people who actually experienced what Oskar or his grandparents experienced react to the book and its message?
