A Mother's Day Thought

I have recently finished Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. It is a fascinating book about a boy's search for continued connection with his father after his father died during the 9/11 attacks. I found the book really interesting and have read the last 50 pages a few times. There was one quote near the end of the book that I thought was an interesting Mother's Day thought.

I probably fell asleep, but I don't remember. I cried so much that everything blurred into everything else. At some point she was carrying me to my room. Then I was in bed. She was looking over me. I don't believe in God, but I believe that things are extremely complicated, and her looking over me was as complicated as anything ever could be. But it was also incredibly simple. In my only life, she was my mom, and I was her son.

Moms watch over their children a lot more than those children realize.

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I really liked this book, but some people won't enjoy it as much. I found the author engaging key ideas, but some might think it heavy-handed in spots. Also, the dialogue is not always straight forward. I thought this passage might give a flavor for the writer's style. It is taken from near then end of the book where the protagonist, Oskar, is talking to another adult character in the book. Nine-year old Oskar starts by asking a question:

"You were disappointed?" "I was angry." "I'm sorry." "No. There's nothing to be sorry for. I thought about it. I thought about it all the time. My father told me where he'd left things, and what he wanted taken care of. He was responsible. He was good. It's easy to be emotional. You can always make a scene. Remember me eight months ago? That was easy." "It didn't sound easy." "It was simple. Highs and lows make you feel that things matter, but they're nothing." "So what's something?" "Being reliable is something. Being good."

Whatever you are currently reading, I hope that the book is tackling important questions and you feel something when you read.