Despite what it sounds like based on my past 26 choices, I DO read new books. While I used to dwell on the classics as an overwhelming thing I had to conquer & dedicate my life to–as I was a crazy, English-loving dork. Okay, I am. Sentence diagramming & all–, I've moved on to allowing myself to read more & more books by current authors. I've mentioned one of my favorites & the one I think we'll still be talking about 100 years from now.
Here's another that I think falls into that category, though this is contested by some critics who see him as too gimmicky, too reliant on extra elements to enhance the text.
Jonathan Safran Foer has written three very successful books. He then wrote the screenplay for one that was turned into a movie. He turned Natalie Portman into a vegan activist–& that's something, right? He's married. He has children.
He's 33.
Does anyone else feel like a failure right about now?
Now, as for the most surprising plot twist I've read, I have to confess: "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" doesn't exactly twist at the end. It changes; your perception is skewed; your understanding is altered. What was most surprising to me with the novel was how much I NEEDED this exact ending.
Here's what we've got, courtesy of Powell's:
"Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" is one of those novels you'll be sorry to see end. Inventor, jewelry designer, Francophile, tambourine player, and pacifist, nine-year-old Oskar careens from Central Park to Coney Island searching for a lock to fit the mysterious key left by his now deceased father. Oskar is endearing and imaginative; his voice captivates from the first page to the last. He tends to attract a motley crew of characters all groping for catharsis amidst various degrees of loss. Again, Foer tackles the big questions of love, truth, and beauty with a flare rare amongst contemporary writers.After lots of emotional ups & downs in the novel, I was holding my breath. I didn't know what to expect from the ending, & I can't go into it too much here. I can only say that I left the book feeling I got everything I needed. And that's all I can say, because I want you to read this one. Really.
After ELIC, I took Joe's copy of "Everything is Illuminated," which is approximately 3 million times better than the movie, because my favorite story line from the book is completely absent in the film. I loved it even more than ELIC but felt like I was reading a completely different kind of novel–still that idea of the quest, the very vulnerable protagonist, but a new world of sentiments.
So I recommend him for the kind of heartbreak & hope we seem to always be looking for (though I confess, I haven't read "Eating Animals" after hearing some bad reviews). If you like what's happening in new literature right now, you'll really enjoy Foer. If you like multiple plot lines, quick writing styles & young, vulnerable or strong-willed character, you'll really enjoy Foer.
And keep an eye out for his latest work, in which he cuts apart his favorite story to turn it into a whole new novel–a mind-blowing mix of design and creative writing.
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