<P> Oskar Schell is the nine - year - old protagonist of Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close . He is an eccentric, intelligent, and clever young boy who self - identifies as a number of things including inventor, amateur entomologist, origamist, and amateur archaeologist . He often contemplates deeper topics and shows great empathy beyond what the average 9 - year - old might have . His thoughts have a tendency to trail off into far - flung ideas, such as ambulances that alert passerby to the severity of their passengers' conditions and plantlike skyscrapers, and he has several assorted hobbies and collections . He is very trusting of strangers and makes friends easily, though he does not have many friends his own age . In the film it is alluded that he has Asperger's syndrome . Oskar mentions being taken in for testing in his first interaction with Abby Black, however he states that "...Tests weren't definitive ." </P> <P> Oskar's mother, Linda Schell, referred to as "Mom" by Oskar in the book, cares for her family greatly . After Thomas's death, Linda tells Oskar "I won't fall in love again ." (4) Though it is implied that she knows Oskar is running around the city meeting strangers, she nevertheless allows him to do so in order to discover more about his father . </P> <P> Oskar's grandmother is a kind woman who is very protective of Oskar . She calls out to him often, and Oskar always responds with "I'm okay" out of habit . When she arrived in the United States, she read as many magazines as she could to integrate herself into the culture and language . As Anna's (Oskar's grandfather's first love) younger sister, she enters into a tumultuous marriage with Oskar's grandfather, and the couple breaks up before the events of the novel . </P> <P> Mr A. Black is an elderly man who is one hundred and three years of age, who lives in the same apartment building as Oskar, and joins him for some of his journey . Prior to meeting Oskar, Mr. Black had not left his apartment in twenty - four years, after having had a rather adventurous life . He is nearly deaf, and cries after Oskar turns on his hearing aids after a "long time" where he was unable to hear . </P>

Extremely loud and incredibly close book title meaning