Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, by Jonathan Safran Foer
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is a novel by Jonathan Safran Foer about nine-year-old Oskar Schell, whose father died in the 9/11 attacks at the World Trade Center. Oskar discovers a mysterious key in his father’s closet and embarks on a journey across New York City to find the lock it belongs to, believing it’s a scavenger hunt his father left for him.
The book follows Oskar’s quest to connect with others and cope with his grief, weaving in parallel stories of his grandparents’ past and their experiences during World War II and other historical tragedies.
Arrowhead Library System has 15 copies available plus ebook and audio versions. It’s available for purchase online for as little as $8 on amazon.
Do your best to read the book before the discussion.
Every year, books are banned and challenged in public and school libraries, usually because they fall somewhere on a wide spectrum of appropriateness. Often a single parent (or someone who doesn’t have a child in the school district) can challenge a book, which effectively removes it from the shelves pending a review. Many children (and adults) get their reading books from their school or public library, so removing them from the shelf makes them inaccessible to that reader, effectively banning them. We rebelliously read these banned books and discuss what they are about and why they have been banned.
Questions? Contact Dianne Edson – dianne@cargillumc.org
