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[a-penewitt]

I don't know exactly what to write about since we haven't read anything new so I guess I'll compare the two things that we have read.

I still haven't decided which one I liked better but right now I think I like ELIC better only because it's more modern and relevant to today. TTTC was very good but I constantly had to stop and look up things like military jargon and the history of the vietnam war which to me, took away from the novel itself. I like learning about stuff like that but not while I'm trying to dissect a novel. I constantly go back and forth between which one I like better but that's my reasoning so far.  

[bookslayerone]

"Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close"; where to begin? As I remarked in class the other day, it was a difficult book for me to relate to. It starts off "Incredibly" slow and is "extremely" long winded- pun intended. I enjoy a good puzzle as much as the next person; however this book is one giant...

[a-penewitt]

I feel your pain. The entire book was suspenseful (at least to me) which got me to move to the next page over and over. The book also has a lot of different twists which misleads you to think that there is going to be a climactic ending. I even thought there was a possibility that his dad might actually be alive or some twist ending like that. But the author decided to go in the opposite direction and have an anti-climactic resolution to a thought provoking novel.

[a-penewitt]

Oh how I wish there was a sequel to this book. I want to know what happens to Oskar once he hits his college years and beyond. I want to know how he copes in everyday life year after this book with him being so OCD and neurotic. I'm more interested in knowing adult Oskar after getting to know child Oskar with so much detail. I also wonder what happens to the relationship between the mother and Oskar past the end of the book. I cannot stand books that get you so intrigued with a character and then it just ends...like the character no longer exists.

[a-penewitt]

This is a picture montage of the 9/11 victims. I know you cannot make out the faces of anyone but the fact that everyone in this picture was just having a normal day on September 11 and it all changed so suddenly. Honestly I was in 2nd grade when this happened and my little 2nd grade mind could not wrap around the true tragedy of what happened. I went home without a care in the world not even realizing the magnitude of what just happened. I guess my parents didnt think it was a good idea to explain to me what happened exactly and I never thought to ask. I knew something bad happened but I never imagined how big it was. I can't begin to fathom what pain, suffering and agony those people and their families went through on this day. That is enough to drive someone crazy. I'm glad I found this picture. It may be sad but it humanizes the victims even more and it forces you to never forget what happened.

[a-penewitt]

Have we talked about how Oskar constantly refers to his “boots being heavy” or “light”? With how far I’ve gotten into the book they have yet to explain it. The author likes to mention things in the beginning of the book and not explain them until later which can make things frustrating. For…

[thisoneuniquegirl-blog]

Thank you! I have never heard that saying before reading this book. And I would really like an explanation of why he says that., or at least how he came up with that. Unless it’s something that his dad used to say, and just picked up from him. Oskar likes to talk like an adult, and this might be one of his ways of doing it. And him only wearing white, innocence would be the go to symbol. He might also wear it so he could be easily described and found, unlike his father, because they never found his body.

[a-penewitt]

I agree. But with Oskar only wearing white is more of a fear of his than symbolic. Almost like he is afraid of not wearing white. Just like his fear of going past the 5th floor in a building or public transportation. I think we are going to get an explanation soon and if we don't, then I will be very angry lol. I think all of Oskar's fears have something to do with his dad's death. As for the boots I have yet to decipher what that would have to do with anything so far.

[a-penewitt]

I heard people in class talking about how the Grandmother and Grandfather were only together for a while because they wanted to reminisce about the old times in Germany. But I feel like this is not why they were together. For one, they never spoke german to each other and two, they never talked about the past they shared. They never shared anything about each other. I think the reason that they were together was because they were both broken and felt as though they were the only people in the world that understood them. I also think that that is why they didn't last. They had to struggle and fight to suppress the memories of the past and they realized that you cannot force love.

[a-penewitt]

With the controversy of whether or not Oskar could be autistic got me thinking about autism. I watched a movie once in high school about a woman who had superior intelligence but she also had all sorts of social and anxiety problems. I started to wonder, what if autism is the next step in evolution? Autism is being found more and more in children lately and it could be an evolutionary stage. I looked this up on google of course, and there have been studies and theories about this and I'll probably be researching this more. People misconceive autism as mental retardation but I believe that autism is the opposite of mental retardation. I think that autistic people are so smart because they don't waste time learning about social interactions. If anyone has any other information about autism or if you know I'm wrong, please feel free to let me know.

[a-penewitt]

With this book being in the perspective of a child who just lost his mother is very biased. I feel terrible for the mother because all she has now is Oskar and he has convinced himself that his mother is distancing herself from him. Saying stuff like she would feel better if she were going to…

[kathief4]

As a mother, I agree with your perspective.  Oskar is a challenging child. He is a precocious and bright child and he has a lot of anger inside.  He bruises himself as a way of expressing what he is feeling on the inside.  He punishes himself for his thoughts and deeds.  I think his mother needs to spend more time with him not only to show her love, but it seems she is afraid to express anger towards him.  I would be angry if my child gave out our house key to strangers and I would let my child know and probably take the cost of replacing the door locks from a portion of his allowance to teach him responsibility.  Of course you would shower love upon your child after such a tragedy, but over time you can’t stop disciplining.  Oskar also should have been grounded for hiding from his poor Grandmother. 9/29/13

[a-penewitt]

This is true. Although I think she might be afraid of him and his intelligence. He has a tendency to use his brain to manipulate people and their emotions. So I guess it is possible after further thought that maybe the mother is intentionally distancing herself from him for now to keep her sanity. I don't think she had a proper mourning period for her husband and the amount of stress and sadness she had to endure is building up. It can be interpreted either way and my opinion of the mother-son relationship is different every day.

[its-ashree]

If you think about it, Oskar’s grandmother is Oskar’s only true friend in the book. She is always there for him, and always will be. Living in the apartment building across the street from each other, they communicate through walkie-talkies and leave messages on the window. The things she does to...

[a-penewitt]

I also have a close relationship with my Grandmother. Oskar's grandmother reminds me of mine because she does everything in her power to do what is best for me even if I do something that she disapproves of. Oskar's grandmother is a very strong woman who doesn't get enough credit in my opinion. I wish i was able to see my grandmother as often as Oskar does and I think Oskar takes her for granted sometimes. But part of that could be because he doesn't know his grandmother's tragic back story.

[hellostephanymaurer]

I feel so bad for how everyone feels about Oskar! That poor child has gone through so much, losing his best friend at such a young age, dealing with his mother’s calm response to the whole thing, reading a letter- that might be disturbing for a young boy to read-from his grandmother, feeling like...

[a-penewitt]

I love Oskar too! I mean I would get frustrated with him at times but I wouldn't hate him lol I think he is hilarious. I love the fact that the father forced him to interact and socialize with other people because he probably would be so anti-social and a lot more rude than he is now. He is a very clever boy that will probably do great things with his life. I wish we could have a peek in the future and see what happens to Oskar when he is in college and adult life.

[a-penewitt]

The Mother

With this book being in the perspective of a child who just lost his mother is very biased. I feel terrible for the mother because all she has now is Oskar and he has convinced himself that his mother is distancing herself from him. Saying stuff like she would feel better if she were going to Oskar's funeral instead of the father's. Obviously the mother is trying her hardest to keep her sanity and Oskar isn't really making that easy. All 9 year olds go through stages where they don't like their parents because the parents are the bad guys sometimes. And with Oskar being a very "honest" child and being very blunt with the mother is probably driving her up a wall. I know I would get frustrated with Oskar more times than one.

[mde1031]

WOW! Talk about stiking a chord! You can’t get anymore real then that. Sadly, as a culture we take the present for granted about dream about tomorrow. As much as bad things happen and as many times that we are all struck with tradgedy and death, we still go back to our same old ways. Maybe not at...

[a-penewitt]

I agree with you Matt about some of that but if we said goodbye and thought it was the last time every time, wouldn't that get depressing? I never want to think about the person I'm saying goodbye to never coming back. I know that I would appreciate their presence around me more but I still don't want that thought in my head. I want to say "see you later" rather than "goodbye".

[a-penewitt]

Have we talked about how Oskar constantly refers to his "boots being heavy" or "light"? With how far I've gotten into the book they have yet to explain it. The author likes to mention things in the beginning of the book and not explain them until later which can make things frustrating. For example, the author didn't mention 9/11 until later on in the book and I have yet to have an explanation as to why Oskar only wears white clothing. I know the answer already but I have not read it from the author yet.