I've just finished "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer, author of "Everything is Illuminated". I read all the time, (my mother is convinced my eyesight is so bad because I used to read in bed with the dim light from the swtich on my electric blanket - the dull orange glow provided enough light for two lines of text!), and the stack of books that is perpetually beside my bed grows with each passing day. But few have affected me so deeply as this beautifully crafted novel.

Safran Foer crafts language and structure as a pro, without the slightest hint of pretension. His writing is humorous and light and profound and irritating and gorgeous all at once... I'm hooked.

His latest offering follows the journey made by Oskar, an intelligent, inquisitive inventor who is exploring New York with the hope of reuniting a key with one of the city's 162 million locks. He's nine years old, and he found the key in a vase in his father's closet. His father was killed in 9/11 and the journey he makes is an allegory of his own emotional journey of anger, acceptance and truth-seeking; the reality of a kid growing up without a dad, all in the name of hate.

Can you remember where you were when you heard about the planes flying into the WTC? I can, and the day is vividly implanted in my memory for eternity. This work of fiction reminds me that I stand forever at arm's length from all that happened - the emotion of that day and its aftermath belongs to the people of NYC, and the families of those who lost loved ones. Even though this is a work of fiction, the author crafts a beautifully poignant tribute to those who suffered and lost.

Near the start of the story, Oskar says he "zips up the sleeping bag of [him]self"... something I know that I do all the time when life gets too much. As the story unfolds the zip comes undone, and his "self" flows out... It's a piece of fiction but if you want to go on an emotional journey with the cleverest nine-year-old you'll ever meet, read this book!