Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

I have decided to start writing a review of the books that I read. Over time, I tend to forget the names, the setting, the plot, and even if the book was any good or not! I hope this can be my external memory...

I just finished reading Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathon Safran something. We read the book for my neighborhood bookclub. Ironically, the author is married to Nicole Krauss who wrote "The History of Love", one of my very favorite books of all time (probably a top 5). You can tell that they have been influenced by each other or by the same teachers, because their writing styles are very similar. They both have an amazing vocabulary and they both write in a way that seems backward to forward. I think the History of Love was a little puzzling as I read it, which was part of the fun. EL&IC was puzzling, but almost felt frustrating. I wonder if that is the actual intent of the author? It is set post 9/11 in New York. The main character is a boy named Oskar. He is trying to solve the mystery of a key he found in his father's closet. The key was labeled "Black". He assumed it is a name and starts his search. On this search, he is also looking for his father (or rather the memory of his father), who was killed at the World Trade Center on 9/11. Oskar is very bright and probably has a form of Asperger's or something. The story also follows the lives of his grandparents: how they met, the bombing they survived, how they married, and their lives up until his grandfather leaves when he finds out that his wife is pregnant. There is so much complexity to the story that it is hard to summarize. Basically, his grandfather was too afraid to live and love. His grandmother realized the importance of actually saying "I Love You," which her husband could not say. Oskar had a way of healing others which only a 9 year old boy with Asperger's could and he had a profound influence on many people's lives. He helped his grandfather heal, as well as his grandmother. He found the man "Black" and helped him heal (hopefully, we never found out for sure) by giving him a key that his father had given him to open an unknown safety deposit box that may have held a letter saying all of the things he needed to hear from his distant father. I like the book more as I reflect back on it. There are so many different plots, and so many levels of dysfunction throughout the book that it makes you feel like you are riding the tilt a whirl ride at Lagoon.