In a vase in a closet, a couple of years after his father died in 9/11, nine-year-old Oskar discovers a key... But which of New York's 162 million locks does it open? So begins a quest that takes Oskar - across New York's five boroughs and into the jumbled lives of friends, relatives and complete strangers.

Comparison: John Irving, Salman Rushdie, Paul Auster
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Synopsis

The film based on the book, starring Sandra bullock and Tom Hanks and Thomas Horn in his debut role, is due for release in UK cinemas 17 February 2012. See below for a trailer.

In a vase in a closet, a couple of years after his father died in 9/11, nine-year-old Oskar discovers a key...The key belonged to his father, he's sure of that. But which of New York's 162 million locks does it open? So begins a quest that takes Oskar - inventor, letter-writer and amateur detective - across New York's five boroughs and into the jumbled lives of friends, relatives and complete strangers. He gets heavy boots, he gives himself little bruises and he inches ever nearer to the heart of a family mystery that stretches back fifty years. But will it take him any closer to, or even further from, his lost father?

Reviews

Wise, funny, unbearably sad. Speeds across the sky like a new-century comet heralding great events in the asteroid belt of fiction Financial Times Utterly engaging, beautifully realised. From the very page it is a hugely involving read ... a heartbreaker: tragic, funny, intensely moving Spectator Serious, funny, yet achingly heartbreaking Herald Dramatically original ... Safran Foer is a writer of considerable brilliance Observer

About the Author

Jonathan Safran Foer was born in 1977. He is the author of Everything is Illuminated, which won the National Jewish Book Award and the Guardian First Book award, and Eating Animals, and the editor of A Convergence of Birds. More books by this author Author 'Like for Like' recommendation