Notes Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
By Jonathan Safran Foer
Author
The author: 1977, lives in Brooklyn, Jewish American writer: had deep impact on his work.
His grandparents were holocaust survivors. In many themes of his books.
This was his second work. 2005 published. Well received. Many honors but not many
awards. It is polarizing. Gets praise but a lot of criticism as well. Not everyone is a fan. Some
of the honors: put on New York public library books to remember, village voices. Received
praises but not many awards. Rating of 3.98 on Goodreads. Almost a 4/5. Rather high.
Everything is illuminated
His first novel 2002. Very well received, New York best seller, won 2 awards. Close in themes
to ELIC. This book contains elements of magical realism. Trigger warning for graphic
depictions of violence. Great book if you want to discover more of his work. 3.9 rating on
Goodreads.
Eating animals
His 3rd book. Only non-fiction book. Discusses our meat consumption habits. Excellent book.
4.19 on Goodreads. Written in a very comprehensible way despite the topic.
Tree of Codes
2011. Most adventurous book. It is fiction. Hard category. Very unconventional. The
“layout” of this book is very unique. Each of the pages is cut out to a certain extent. The
story constantly changed. Different phrases are being formed. Sometimes they do not make
a lot of sense, sometimes they do. Interesting reading experience. It is a huge challenge to
publish.
Here I am
His latest novel. 2016. Conventional novel. Deviated from the themes of his earlier work.
Discussion of his divorce. Least well received. 3.6 on Goodreads. Not a bad book but not
necessarily recommended. Only if you are a big fan.
, THE BOOK
3 connected stories:
-Oskar
-his grandmother
-his grandfather.
Start with Oskar. Narrator shifts to grandmother and grandfather. This is typical for this
book. Jonathan asks reader to put in some work. Not everything is on the surface level of
the text. Not everything is easy to comprehend. Writer asks reader for commitment and
effort.
Difficult: not every storyline is told chronologically. = confusing.
Main storyline
Oskar: Searches something that opens with the key he found. The ending bothers readers.
We expect a satisfying ending. It does not solve the mystery. People are disappointed. What
does the key open? Writer knows what he’s doing. He could have shown us but he doesn’t.
That’s a conscious choice.
Satisfying ending possible at all?
Because the only really satisfying ending is Oskar discovering that the key leads to
something connected to his father: this would have been unrealistic. Things like that do not
really happen. It would have been satisfying but much less realistic. Adds to realism of the
story.
Each storyline (3) with differing POV character. Each of them has distinct narrative voices.
The way they tell their story = different. = distinct narrative voice.
Visuals = different
Why choose this book for this class? We talked about genre conventions. Genre has its own
characteristics. This one deviates from genre conventions of the novel. Novels are
supposed to only contain text in black and white. He purposely deviates when it comes to
formal characteristics and layout.
Visual writing: photographs, the flipbook, colored writing, scribbled over texts..
=consciously. Received criticism and high praise. It’s an integral part of the work.
1. Make the work more interesting to read. Different kind of reading experience. You
never know what you will find on the next page. Makes the book unique. It sets the book
apart from other books and makes it memorable.
2. Bring us closer to the characters.
Oskar: pictures are added of the tings Oskar encounters. help us see the world through
Oskar’s eyes, his POV. Makes us identify with him more. Pictures add to realism of the
story.
By Jonathan Safran Foer
Author
The author: 1977, lives in Brooklyn, Jewish American writer: had deep impact on his work.
His grandparents were holocaust survivors. In many themes of his books.
This was his second work. 2005 published. Well received. Many honors but not many
awards. It is polarizing. Gets praise but a lot of criticism as well. Not everyone is a fan. Some
of the honors: put on New York public library books to remember, village voices. Received
praises but not many awards. Rating of 3.98 on Goodreads. Almost a 4/5. Rather high.
Everything is illuminated
His first novel 2002. Very well received, New York best seller, won 2 awards. Close in themes
to ELIC. This book contains elements of magical realism. Trigger warning for graphic
depictions of violence. Great book if you want to discover more of his work. 3.9 rating on
Goodreads.
Eating animals
His 3rd book. Only non-fiction book. Discusses our meat consumption habits. Excellent book.
4.19 on Goodreads. Written in a very comprehensible way despite the topic.
Tree of Codes
2011. Most adventurous book. It is fiction. Hard category. Very unconventional. The
“layout” of this book is very unique. Each of the pages is cut out to a certain extent. The
story constantly changed. Different phrases are being formed. Sometimes they do not make
a lot of sense, sometimes they do. Interesting reading experience. It is a huge challenge to
publish.
Here I am
His latest novel. 2016. Conventional novel. Deviated from the themes of his earlier work.
Discussion of his divorce. Least well received. 3.6 on Goodreads. Not a bad book but not
necessarily recommended. Only if you are a big fan.
, THE BOOK
3 connected stories:
-Oskar
-his grandmother
-his grandfather.
Start with Oskar. Narrator shifts to grandmother and grandfather. This is typical for this
book. Jonathan asks reader to put in some work. Not everything is on the surface level of
the text. Not everything is easy to comprehend. Writer asks reader for commitment and
effort.
Difficult: not every storyline is told chronologically. = confusing.
Main storyline
Oskar: Searches something that opens with the key he found. The ending bothers readers.
We expect a satisfying ending. It does not solve the mystery. People are disappointed. What
does the key open? Writer knows what he’s doing. He could have shown us but he doesn’t.
That’s a conscious choice.
Satisfying ending possible at all?
Because the only really satisfying ending is Oskar discovering that the key leads to
something connected to his father: this would have been unrealistic. Things like that do not
really happen. It would have been satisfying but much less realistic. Adds to realism of the
story.
Each storyline (3) with differing POV character. Each of them has distinct narrative voices.
The way they tell their story = different. = distinct narrative voice.
Visuals = different
Why choose this book for this class? We talked about genre conventions. Genre has its own
characteristics. This one deviates from genre conventions of the novel. Novels are
supposed to only contain text in black and white. He purposely deviates when it comes to
formal characteristics and layout.
Visual writing: photographs, the flipbook, colored writing, scribbled over texts..
=consciously. Received criticism and high praise. It’s an integral part of the work.
1. Make the work more interesting to read. Different kind of reading experience. You
never know what you will find on the next page. Makes the book unique. It sets the book
apart from other books and makes it memorable.
2. Bring us closer to the characters.
Oskar: pictures are added of the tings Oskar encounters. help us see the world through
Oskar’s eyes, his POV. Makes us identify with him more. Pictures add to realism of the
story.
