I had this book waiting in my stack of to-reads for at least four years, but never felt like reading it. Now, after finally starting and finishing it, I am really glad I did, because I really enjoyed it and I think it's worth a read for everyone who has it also in a waiting position :)

At the beginning of this novel, I had a rather hard time getting into it, but after a rocky start, I was literally drawn into the story! I loved the playful makeup and appearance of the book, with a few graphic design elements and pictures here and there. The story of Oskar's family is an extraordinary one, reaching back to WWII, and building a bridge to the early 2000s and 9/11, loaded with personal difficulties and burdens, but also love and joy.

2 stars - I probably wouldn't have finished it if it were not an audiobook.

The book is not without its strong points - I did appreciate some technical aspects, even though they felt a bit gimmicky at times - but I had some serious issues with how emotionally manipulative it felt. Foer is pushing all the buttons: a number of phone messages from the father trapped in WTC on the morning of 9/11, revealed as the story progresses; graphic, first-person description of the bombing of Hiroshima; the Falling Man; the first-person description of the bombing of Dresden; the accounts of some very private, very emotional moments. Too much, too often, too predictably.

Another thing - and this was something I found distasteful - was that this American book about 9/11 makes extensive references to the bombing of Dresden, and quotes vivid eyewitness accounts of the bombing of Hiroshima, but never addresses the fact that these bombs did not drop themselves. Not once. (I think one of the reasons I took the time to listen until the very end was to make sure it never happens.) This might be History 101, but probably not to everyone; I'm not saying Americans should live in permanent guilt, but at least do own your mistakes, even if shared; do not whitewash. Nifty references to [b:Slaughterhouse-Five|4981|Slaughterhouse-Five|Kurt Vonnegut|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1337996187s/4981.jpg|1683562] just won't do.

I absolutely loved this book! It's witty and sweet and funny and heartbreaking and I was sorry to see it end, it was that good! The story is told through the eyes of a gifted little boy named Oskar, who lives in New York City and lost his father in 9/11. Oskar is reluctant to accept his fathers death and move on and he embarks on a journey to discover the origin on a mysterious key he finds hidden in the bottom of a vase in his fathers closet. The main plot is how this extremely love able character travels around the city, his interactions with all different walks of life, while struggling to deal with the loss of his father and a shaky relationship with his mother who haas found a new boyfriend a year later, much to Oskar's dismay. There are also a couple subplots which tie the story together nicely and explain the history of Oskar's family from his grandfathers point of view. I gave this book five starts, and would have given it even more if I could. This book was extremely well written, touching and hard to put down and I would highly recommend it to anyone.

Thanks to some major and majorly annoying computer glitches, I was late getting this posted for Autism Awareness Month... but here I discuss the stack of books I read through on the topic. 

I read this book during my breaks at work. I figure I must do something productive. Overall I enjoyed the concept. The pictures were a neat accessory to the book and made Oskar quirky and overly smart for his age. Not to mention they were relevant to the story line...at times. At one point I was like "I could have sworn that I saw that door knob before." While there were times when I was a bit confused by who narrated a chapter I gradually grew to understand it. At times where were some heartfelt moments and I wondered how the mom could let Oskar go all around the place with a complete stranger. Of course I get my answers in the end.

 

Again it's one of those books that ties everything together and honestly the last few chapters were the most interesting for me.

 

 

~finished 4/20/2015