Things I want to bring up in book club discussion but don’t want to ruin a post with…
I said in a tag of my review post that “Finding a something is not nearly the same as LOOKING for that something” and that can be said about a DUAL THEME in this book: one of Oskar looking for meaning in his father’s death by searching the lock for the key AND for his own father’s search for HIS father.
page 302, “I found it and now I can stop looking? I found it and it had nothing to do with Dad? I found it and now I’ll wear heavy boots for the rest of my life?”
I love the quote about not wanting to go to the top of the Empire State building expecting to find Mr. Black, his former neighbor and lock search companion because the disappointment of not finding him would be worse than the joy of finding him. I think. I can’t find the page.
I loved loved LOVED the letter from Stephen Hawking on page 304. I started crying here.
Funny story: I was reading the last few pages in the car with my hub and his parents when my eyes started tearing up and I really didn’t want to go to our destination, a family reunion slash birthday party, with mascara running down my face, so I looked at my MIL and told her, “Tell me something funny, I don’t want to cry.” And she brightly responded, “We’re going to go see family!!!” Maybe you had to be there, but it was actually quite hilarious. :)
I managed to not cry through the very end of the book.
We’re using this book as our college’s Common Reader. It’s such an imaginative, exciting book. Our students are responding to it well. We’re excited to have Mr. Foer on our campus this coming November. Should be fun!