Hello Friends!
I have a confession to make, and I hope you will not judge me for it!
As many of you have noticed, I have yet to put out a formal review of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. It has been on our bookshelf for about two MONTHS, but I have yet to finish it!
I’m up to about page 230 so far…and I just keep putting it down, and picking it up, and then putting it down, and I start reading so many of the other titles we have suggested.
What I WILL say about Extremely Loud and Incredibly Loud is thus: so far, the writing is, without a doubt beautiful. Jonathan Safran Foer has a gift of creating a world in which the readers truly believe they are in the heart and mind of Oskar, the nine-year old narrator of the story, but alas, I am not nine. Your heart breaks for him when he listens to the last messages his father left on the answering machine, or when he begins his search for his fathers last hidden treasure…you just want to reach into the pages of the book and give him a hug!
But, I am someone who reads at the speed of light and usually cannot take my head out of the book that I’m currently reading, and yet I keep switching to other books because I’m too distracted while reading this particular novel. Why am I saying this? Well, for those of you awaiting our review, I wanted to let you know what the hold up was! Everything we review we always read in its entirety, so I felt explanation was needed! Will we review it in the future? Perhaps we will, when we have more time on our hands and more readers at The Write Teacher!
Live, Love, Learn,
The Write Teacher
The Write Teacher 
the reason you are having trouble finishing this book is that it is poorly written by a writer who does not live up to the adulation he’s received. overly loud and incredibly over-hyped. a book that compels us to keep reading is one that makes no mistake in doing so. safran foer’s writing comes every bit as packaged as pre-made hamburger patties. he’s great, if you like MFA graduate writing above genuine talent and life experience creating compelling art.
Ah, Mister Veve, thank you for clearing my conscience. I no longer feel guilty for not finishing this book! 🙂
I love how different all the perspectives on this book are. Some people seem to have read it in one day, some people can’t seem to finish it. Some people think it is wonderful and some people hate it so viciously they seem to consider it a personal attack of some sort. Jonathan Safran Foer is genuinely one of those authors you either love or despise, isn’t he?
That appears to be the case! I would like to be clear, I did not hate it, or view it as a personal attack. There was something missing for me, although I cannot seem to find the words to explain what that was! Happy Reading!
Ah, no, I didn’t mean you, I mean, I’ve been reading a lot about this book and the opinions are so divided! I truly find that interesting. I hope you do manage to finish it one day. Have you attempted Everything is Illuminated, or do you feel kind of done with JSF for the time being?
I have not read Everything is Illuminated! I did see the movie, (before I even KNEW about the book), and was quite impressed!