Oskar’s narration concludes with his emotional reconnection with his mother, whom he has spent much of the novel resenting. The mystery of the key is solved by Abby Black's anticlimactic confession, in which she admits that it belongs to her ex-husband William, who had, in a quest similar been Oskar's, been searching for the key after learning that his estranged father had wanted him to have it. When they accomplish the task, Grandpa fills the coffin with the many unsent letters he has written Thomas Jr. After meeting his Grandpa, he enlists the man's help to dig up his father's empty coffin. The latter half of the novel focuses more closely on Oskar's relationships with his mother, his Grandma, and his Grandpa, whom he believes is merely the renter in his Grandma's extra bedroom.Īfter eight months of searching for the lock, Oskar is no closer to the truth. Black, an old man who agrees to accompany him on the journey. He interviews a slew of interesting and eccentric characters along the way, including Abby Black, who seems to know more about the key than she is willing to admit, and Mr. Because the key was in an envelope with the name "Black" on it, Oskar travels all over the five boroughs to meet every person with the family name "Black" that he can find.
His natural eccentricities have only been exacerbated in the wake of his father's death, which haunts him constantly.Īfter he finds a mysterious key in his father’s closet, Oskar meticulously plans a quest to find its purpose, hoping that by finding its owner, he might find out more about his father's last days. An extremely emotional and intelligent child, Oskar is often over-stimulated by his environment, and often falls victim to his many fears and phobias. His overly protective Grandma lives across the street. Oskar lives in Manhattan with his mother, who is often absent because of work. Grandma's story is told via letters she writes to Oskar, whereas Grandpa's letters have been written over the course of decades, and are all addressed to his son (Oskar's father, Thomas Schell Jr.).
Typically, one of the secondary narrators provides one chapter for each chapter of Oskar's narration. Most of all, the novel is an exploration of grief set against the cultural backdrop of post-09/11 America, interspersed with secondary narrations by Oskar’s grandparents, whose lives parallel their grandson’s in significant ways. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Jonathan Safran Foer's ambitious second novel (after Everything is Illuminated), follows nine-year-old Oskar Schell as he navigates New York City on a quest to unlock the secrets of a mysterious key and its connection to his father, who died in the collapse of the World Trade Center on 09/11.
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