Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

This thread is for people who have finished reading the book. SPOILERS MAY BE POSTED HERE.

Kristina wrote: "Here are some discussion questions if you want to use them.
1. Talk about Oskar—an unusually precious child. Do you find him sympathetic or annoying? Or both?"

I found Oskar to be sympathetic, but not that unique in literary terms. In the last couple of years I've read a number of novels with young protagonists. If you really enjoyed EL&IC I would recommend any or all of them.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt

and my personal favorite The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Kristina wrote: "Here are some discussion questions if you want to use them.

3. Jonathan Safran Foer has said that he writes about characters and their miscommunications: some characters think they're saying a lot but say nothing; others say nothing but end up saying a lot. Which characters fall into which category in Extremely Loud? What might Foer be saying about our ability to communicate deep-seated emotions?"

I was particularly struck by the way that the book's characters used writing and pictures to communicate, not with others, but with themselves. Oskar's "Things that Happened to Me" book and his grandfather's letters aided both in processing emotions. As a lifelong journal-keeper, I believe writing for oneself can be a powerful tool in communicating with others. Expressing emotions to others can be very difficult if you don't know what those emotions are yourself.

Favorite quotes from the book:

"You cannot protect yourself from sadness without protecting yourself from happiness"

"So many people enter and leave your life! Hundreds of thousands of people! You have to keep the door open so they can come in! But it also means you have to let them go!

Angie wrote: "Favorite quotes from the book:

"You cannot protect yourself from sadness without protecting yourself from happiness"..."

I loved this quote too!

I have the actual book now and will spend a little more time with its unusual format. At least in my Kindle version, most of that effect was lost or at best, ineffective.

I watched the movie late last night and found several of the performances very good. Since I basically knew the story by now anyway, I think it will add to whatever reading I still do.

Information about the movie (Both provide access to "spoiler" information):

I didn't realize there was a movie. I'll have to check it out.

Julie wrote: "I didn't realize there was a movie. I'll have to check it out."

It's a sweet movie.

Angie wrote: "Kristina wrote: "Here are some discussion questions if you want to use them.
1. Talk about Oskar—an unusually precious child. Do you find him sympathetic or annoying? Or both?"

I found Oskar to be..."

I have read all but Wonder from that list. Those books are so very good and there is a resemblance in the protagonists of the novels listed. The Book Thief is one of my all time favorite books as well.

I watched the movie with some trepidation, as I always do with movies of books I like, when I can bring myself to actually do it. I thought this one was decent.

More recently that I read this book, I read The History of Love by Nicole Krauss, wife of Foer. It covers a similar topic. This group read that book a while back. I thought both books were great and wondered how much the authors influenced or helped each other.

Linda wrote: "...I read The History of Love by Nicole Krauss, wife of Foer....."

I liked the book, my f2f book club panned it in a meeting I missed. I never did quite figure out the objections, but seldom do I recall them that adamant or consistent in opinion. Something about accuracy?

Foer seems to give his narrators such dramatic idiosyncrasies that they almost become tropes. Personally, I loved the voice of Oskar, his mannerisms, and his way of relating to the world, but I could see him driving some readers nuts. I also found him sympathetic. Did anyone find him annoying? Doesn't sound like it from those who've already posted.

Linda wrote: "More recently that I read this book, I read The History of Love by Nicole Krauss, wife of Foer. It covers a similar topic..."

I have this book on my to-read list but I had no idea it was his wife! Thanks for pointing that out.

My mother started the book and hated Oskar. I didn't adore Oskar or his voice, but I loved everyone else in the book alot. Oskar to me served as the vehicle to take us a lot of interesting places and interesting people.

Oskar's guilt however, his story if not his voice were heartbreaking and gripping.

To me, Oskar had his quirks that, to his family, were probably annoying and loveable in equal parts - and it engendered a similar response in me. I thought the book did a good job of getting the reader inside his head. A wonderful thing that books can do is teach us empathy for people who are different from us, and this book certainly brought to life for me the struggles that a child like Oskar can have, as well as his family members. I agree with Deborah that his guilt was heartbreaking - he couldn't even give voice to it, really, even though it consumed his life for so long.

Amy wrote: " I thought the book did a good job of getting the reader inside his head...."

So did I.