Book ~ "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" - Jonathan Safran Foer (2006)

From Amazon.com ~ Oskar Schell is not your average nine-year-old. A budding inventor, he spends his time imagining wonderful creations. He also collects random photographs for his scrapbook and sends letters to scientists. When his father dies in the World Trade Center collapse, Oskar shifts his boundless energy to a quest for answers. He finds a key hidden in his father's things that doesn't fit any lock in their New York City apartment; its container is labeled "Black." Using flawless kid logic, Oskar sets out to speak to everyone in New York City with the last name of Black. For balance, Foer includes the subplot of Oskar's grandfather, who survived the World War II bombing of Dresden. Although this story is not quite as evocative as Oskar's, it does carry forward and connect firmly to the rest of the novel. The two stories finally intersect in a powerful conclusion that will make even the most jaded hearts fall.

I read this book because Ken, Gord's son, loved it.

I, on the other hand, didn't love it. I didn't like the writing style and I thought the storyline and characters were dumb. Just not my kind of book, I guess. And my heart didn't fall.

I couldn't wait to finish it just to get through it. Had it not been Ken recommending it, I would have given up on it.