Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

"I thought about all of the things that everyone ever says to each other, and how everyone is going to die, whether it's in a millisecond, or days, or months, or 76.5 years, if you were just born. Everything that's born has to die, which means our lives are like skyscrapers. The smoke rises at different speeds, but they're all on fire, and we're all trapped."

I know I am a little late on the bandwagon to read this book. I blame it on my English Major. It is so liberating to be able to read what I want, when I want, without having to worry too much about analyzing it.

This book was a delight. It was genuinely funny. Really, Oskar Schell could be one of the most likable characters in literature tied with Ramona Quimby and Elizabeth Bennett. For example, "Do you have any coffee?'...'It stunts my growth, and I'm afraid of death." I laughed out loud so many times that Kevin asked me to repeat whatever I had just read because it made him laugh too.

I cried a lot too though. It made 9/11 so much more real for me. The psychological process of healing that Oskar goes through after his father dies is so moving. And the love of his mother and grandparents to him is moving also. I loved how is Grandma always said, "I hope you never love anything as much as I love you." And I loved how when Oskar was sad, he said that he had "Heavy Boots."

It was a delight. Have you read it?

And have you read "Everything is Illuminated?" I want to read that next.