Helpful Score: 2
Unlike "Everything_Is_Illuminated," which I read about 2 years ago, the tone of this novel was a very consistent balance of extremely funny and incredibly sad.
How can you not love an idiosyncratic nine-year-old narrator who says things like, "Succotash my Balzac, dipshiitake," because he's not supposed to curse? A kid who hands out a business card printed, "OSKAR SCHELL: INVENTOR, JEWELRY DESIGNER, JEWELRY FABRICATOR, AMATEUR ENTOMOLOGIST, FRANCOPHILE, VEGAN, ORIGAMIST, PACIFIST, PERCUSSIONIST, AMATEUR ASTRONOMER, COMPUTER CONSULTANT, AMATEUR ARCHAEOLOGIST, COLLECTOR OF: rare coins, butterflies that died natural deaths, miniature cacti, Beatles memorabilia, semiprecious stones, and other things." Maybe I just have a thing for precocious children, possibly because I was one, but I loved this kid. I cared about his quest to find the lock matching the key he found in his father's closet, after said father died on 9/11. I was amused by his crazy interactions with people throughout New York.
Interwoven into Oskar's quest, is the story of his grandparents, who as teenagers survived the bombing of Dresden. The comparison/contrast of these two tragedies adds a lot of depth to the plot and also causes the reader (at least this reader) to think. I won't burden you with what I thought, so as to not influence what you might think. (Oh, the thinks you can think.)
Overall, a great book. I think this one will become a classic, for both the writing and the historical context.
How can you not love an idiosyncratic nine-year-old narrator who says things like, "Succotash my Balzac, dipshiitake," because he's not supposed to curse? A kid who hands out a business card printed, "OSKAR SCHELL: INVENTOR, JEWELRY DESIGNER, JEWELRY FABRICATOR, AMATEUR ENTOMOLOGIST, FRANCOPHILE, VEGAN, ORIGAMIST, PACIFIST, PERCUSSIONIST, AMATEUR ASTRONOMER, COMPUTER CONSULTANT, AMATEUR ARCHAEOLOGIST, COLLECTOR OF: rare coins, butterflies that died natural deaths, miniature cacti, Beatles memorabilia, semiprecious stones, and other things." Maybe I just have a thing for precocious children, possibly because I was one, but I loved this kid. I cared about his quest to find the lock matching the key he found in his father's closet, after said father died on 9/11. I was amused by his crazy interactions with people throughout New York.
Interwoven into Oskar's quest, is the story of his grandparents, who as teenagers survived the bombing of Dresden. The comparison/contrast of these two tragedies adds a lot of depth to the plot and also causes the reader (at least this reader) to think. I won't burden you with what I thought, so as to not influence what you might think. (Oh, the thinks you can think.)
Overall, a great book. I think this one will become a classic, for both the writing and the historical context.
Back to all reviews by this member
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details
