Unabridged Audiobook
I read this book a long time ago and remembered loving it but I couldn’t fully remember why. Listening to it truly explained why. The depth and complexity of emotion is stunning and the narration helps give the story justice. Definitely worth the listen.
The narration of this was incredible. I'm so glad I listened to it! I also recommend having a physical copy of the book because somethings are fun and useful to see, such as the photographs throughout the book - but I am so glad I listened to this. It really enhanced the experience. Very moving story, very heartfelt but not overdone. Excellent father-son and overall family story.
It was the narration of this book that drew me in and held me. The tangle of lives and the history that unfolds out of their stories is compelling and so very artfully done. I love the way Foer is able to capture the perspectives of a 9 year old, an elderly gentleman and an aging grandmother equally well. Remarkable book.
I found this book, generally boring and lacking any particular plot. It meandered all over the place as far as I was concerned. The narrators were all pretty good, especially Oskar’s. I had a hard time staying with it and skipped quite a bit to get to the finish
For the most part, it was an amazing, unusual, endearing book. I disliked the sexual descriptions in the letters to the son and grandson because - truly - what child wants to read that about their parents or grandparents, and it felt gratuitous to me. Even though Oskar was dealing with some serious darkness of his own, I was always glad to get back to his part of the narration because it felt as though I was coming into light out of darkness....into air out of suffocation. I didn't object to the darkness and suffocation, because they were a very realistic response to what Grandma (did it really never say her first name, or have I just forgotten it?) and Thomas Sr. went through, but I was very glad of the reprieves that Oskar's perspective provided. Because I love Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock, I am considering watching the movie, but am a bit afraid - both that it will be too graphic in places and that it will not do the book justice - 2 hours is not - after all - very much time in which to address the intricacies of this book.
I haven't seen the movie of this book which I'm glad about now that I've listened to it since I'm pretty sure Hollywood found a way to screw it up. Really, this is one of the best audiobooks I've ever listened to. The story is very good, and the three main character perspectives are so adeptly told that it compels you to keep listening. The narrators for each part are top notch. Each could probably have done the whole book by themselves, but instead you get all three. The world through the eyes of a nine year old boy right after 9/11 is told with absolute clarity and truth, and is funny and sad and takes me back to those days like almost nothing else has. I was eleven and I didn't lose anyone, but I remember coming to grips with life because of the attacks. I think this book would effect you very deeply if you are anything like Oscar and had to go through what he did on 9/11 so, in that since, beware. But the story has such good intentions and doesnt get bogged down with the typical ebbs and flows and ups and downs you normally have to endure in say a Hallmark melodrama. Instead, Oscar is growing like any other kid. He's damaged and angry but also kind and funny. He's anxious and terrified but also tough and inquisitive. He's got problems but he's growing. He's got a life to live and something left to discover, not only about the world, but about himself and about what love means when separated by death. I thought this was a very mature book told with innocence and compassion for the subject matter. Definitely well worth the time.
At first I wasn’t sure about this story or where it was going, but as it continued I started to really enjoy it. The writing style was interesting, and the back and forth between characters was a little confusing at first. Overall it was a beautiful story about several people and their loves and losses.
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