Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close...

... is the book I finished last night. I have been living with it for the last few days and completely submerged inside the plot and characters.

The joy for me was the creativity that Jonathan Safran Foer brings to the novel. Images, blank pages, blurred fonts that support and raise the narrative to a higher involvement. I have a confession - I'm a terribly fast reader which means I often end up 'skimming' but with this book I was completely involved.

It is also terribly sad. So, I was trying to explain to Frog the other evening why reading this book was so special and remarked that I had cried twice on the train into Paris. And he laughed at me.

Oiseau: Oh, but you wouldn't understand. You don't even cry at sad films.
Frog: I do.
Oiseau: Like what for example?
Frog: Top Gun
Oiseau: No. Ha ha ha ha
Frog. Yes.
Oiseau: Don't tell me - the part where Goose dies
Frog: Yes! I was twelve years old and suddenly I found I was crying. It was very sad.
Oiseau: Well I clearly underestimated you. I take that previous comment back.

Never underestimate the power of Top Gun.