The novel, in brief, is about a little boy whose father died in the World Trade Center on 9/11 and who then decides to piece together clues about his dad's life. The biggest clue is a key inside a vase that he finds in his dad's closet. More myseteriously, the word "black" is written on it in his dad's handwriting.
We started out with ratings, and the novel got 5 stars from each of us. Because of the limited time, we were only able to delve into the book's characters and the author's writing style. We all absolutely loved Oskar. I've heard that some critics found the seven year old "annoyingly pretentious," but he didn't strike us that way at all. We thought he was cute, sweet, and quirky, and we really felt for him as a character because of what he had experienced. We also liked his mom, although at first some of us thought she was a little neglectful. His grandma and grandpa were also really intriguing, likable characters.
I found it interesting—and impressive—that even though very little actually happens, the novel is still riveting. Most novels are composed of scenes that put together make up the plot. This novel was mainly made up of the characters' reflections on things that had happened to them in the past. For instance, it starts with Oskar describing all his new inventions and then remembering the day of his dad's funeral. Maybe because the characters were so well developed and they'd lived through such traumatic events that being in their heads was really interesting. The novel switches from Oskar's point of view to his grandpa's and his grandma's, and we thought the author's efforts at creating unique points of view were very successful. Each section was written in a unique and believable way, and moreover each storyline was compelling.
I thought about the book later, and it struck me that there were some really interesting themes running through it. For instance, there were lots of keys and locks and puzzles to solve. That, put together with the tragedy of 9/11 and the bombing of Dresden (also mentioned), made me wonder if the book is exploring the issue of how an individual ever gets over, or even comprends, some of the terrible things that happen in the world. There were a lot of differment means of expression used effectively and ineffectively, like letters, images, speech, and notebooks. That made wonder if, building on the previous point, there is a question of whether any of these means of self-expression are ever fully effective at expressing the human condition. Finally, Oskar asks all the people with the last name of Black if they know anything about his dad, and it turns out they have almost all been affected by 9/11 in some way. I think maybe the book is also exploring how traumatic events effect not just the individual but a whole city.
Finally, we ended with one word.
Have you read this novel? What did you think of it? Did you have a personal reaction to it? Did you have different ideas about the themes?
