I just finished this on Friday and whoa. I knocked the whole thing out in two days just because I loved it so much. It actually made me laugh out loud (which is unusual - not many books make me do that) & it also made me ball my eyes out. Like not a couple of lone tears. Like an actual crying jag on the couch while no one else was home.

What I want to know is how many of you guys have read it? Did you enjoy it? Is this guy famous overseas because I've never heard of him before in NZ but he seems like he should be famous. Who has read his other book Everything is Illuminated? Is it as horribley, heartbreakingly sad?

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i've heard alot of good things about him, seems a bit gimmicky though.

i've only read extremely loud & incredibley close but it didn't seem gimmicky at all to me.

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its only gimmicky in the sense that the pictures and weird structure might get people to read it. when you are reading it though, its just part of the story. it works so well and for the most part you agree that this kid is smart and this could all happen. just when you start to doubt it though, the explanation comes. i havent read his first book yet, but im going to.

I really enjoyed it yes

damn it. i've been meaning to raed this for months. but i have no time.
well i have time, but only for academic reading.
hrmph..

spring break. i will.
thakns for reminding me.

but i thought the imagery in 'everything is illuminated' was so so brilliant.

i really want to read this.

everything is illuminated is amazing

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i think there may be something on my head.

luv ya lissie
!

see, now that's just straight up spam.
you should really be banned.

and get the fuck out of the library. if you wanna tard up the void, whatever. but not the legitimate forums.

what ya talkin bout willis

I love this book and his other book (Everything is Illuminated) and his wife/girlfriend's book (I forget which) The History of Love. And I recommend all of them. His wife/girlfriend is Nicole Krauss and she doesn't seem to be as well known as him but she's just as good a writer. (Though she's got something else out I've not read yet.)

So anyway, I'm a fan.

yeah, the history of love was a really good book too.

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i think there may be something on my head.

Well Everything Is Illuminated has been made into a movie, starring everyone's favourite hobbit.
I got it out from the library ages ago and started reading it but it didn't grab me immediately and then I had to give it back. I should give it another try.

lily are you going to do english 220 next semester? I'm doing it because WE GET TO STUDY CAT'S EYE.

I LOVED extremely loud and incredibly close. I thought it was an amazing book. I had read Everything Is Illuminated before, which was alright, quite funny, but in my opinion it isn't half as good. His wife's book, The History of Love, is *VERY* similar in writing style and narrative type to his; its perfectly readable but you kind of feel its a poor imitation of his.

Incidently, not to lower the tone, but he is rather dashing for an author... I'd definitely do him.

Novel's since 1900? YUP. Does this mean that you're in one of my classes? HOW EXCITING.
& Cat's Eye



I'm glad so many ppl liked this book. I went and searched online and it turns out after much initial fawning a bunch of ppl regard him as pretentious and icky. I thought maybe my little thread would die, with very little appreciating.

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i love the language and the kind of autistic kid, and the quixotic search, it is heartrending... but also funny

that is what i mainly love about jonathan safran foer. the autistic type characters and the unusual language. i came to him via a book called 'the unabdriged pocketbook of lightning.' what's not to love?

yes. i can't wait.

I really liked it. Wasn't as good as Everything is Illuminated (Alex = ), although that's probably not a fair comparison because of the drastically different subject matter.

And yeah.... JSF is oddly do-able.

Although I don't hold this against the book at all, because its a work of creative genius in its own right, did anyone else notice slight parallels between it and Gunther Grass's The Tin Drum? Both have precocious child narrators called Oscar.... I'm not sure if I just noticed that as a bizarre coincidence because I had just finished The Tin Drum when I started Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close or if there was more of a connection....

What, Sean Astin? Better fucking be.

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Time is the distance that you can't return by miles.

I escaped somehow. Let's go

actualy [sic] I have quite a blessed life if I'm honest. I have many people to love, hate few and have few money problem's [sic].... What more does a person need? Oh yeah and I have some kind of humbleness unlike you of course ^_^ ~ CarefulCarpenter