[NB: 2-in-1 edition] Everything Is Illuminated, Jonathan Safran Foer's stunning debut, tells the story of a young Jewish American's quixotic journey into an unexpected past. An arresting blend of high comedy and great tragedy, it is about searching for people and places that no longer exist, for the hidden truths that haunt every family, and for the delicate but necessary tales that link past and future. In Foer's exhilarating second novel, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, nine-year-old Oskar Schell sets out to find the lock that matches a mysterious key belonging to his father, who died in the World Trade Center on September 11. With humor and tenderness, Foer confronts the traumas of our recent history through Oskar's affecting, often hilarious, and ultimately healing journey. This beautiful '2 Works' edition brings together, for the first time, two works from one of this generation's most original writers.