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After his spellbinding first novel Everything is Illuminated (***1/2 Summer 2002), Jonathan Safran Foer seems "trapped in [Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close] by the very tics that made his first one a success" (Chicago Sun Times). The plot structure__quirky boy embarking on a quest for information about a loved one__mirrors that of his debut. And while Foer still displays a "seemingly inexhaustible supply of verbal ingenuity," this time around there is an uneasy balance between the prose and t

After his spellbinding first novel Everything is Illuminated (***1/2 Summer 2002), Jonathan Safran Foer seems "trapped in [Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close] by the very tics that made his first one a success" (Chicago Sun Times). The plot structure__quirky boy embarking on a quest for information about a loved one__mirrors that of his debut. And while Foer still displays a "seemingly inexhaustible supply of verbal ingenuity," this time around there is an uneasy balance between the prose and the subject matter (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). This is, after all, a book about tragedy and loss. Some see Oskar's oddball evasion of his emotions as affecting and heartbreaking; others see it as evasive and, what's worse, manipulative. Maybe the wounds of 9/11 are still too fresh.

Technical issues are more cut and dried. Oskar's voice, for all of its precocity, overall fails to draw the reader in. Instead of portraying the world through Oskar's eyes, Foer spins the reader around in the boy's head, a claustrophobic world of lists and fears. The inclusion of photos makes the dearth of visual writing that much more glaring. This flatness extends to other characters as well. This can be forgiven in a book with such a large cast (there are 262 Blacks in the New York City phone book). But many grumble that the caricatures include two main characters, the Schell grandparents.

It is easy to aim critics' complaints about Oskar's precocity at Foer himself; all recognize this young author's great talent. Many admire Foer's reach for something grand, even as they acknowledge that he hasn't fully accomplished his task in this novel.

This is an excerpt from a review published in Bookmarks magazine.