In the stories Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and The Namesake, the authors Jonathan Foer and Jhumpa Lahiri draw their audience in through the strong invocation of memory and remembrance in very similar ways. Throughout the stories, the authors continuously alternate and focus on the point of views and thoughts of several characters. In Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, we read from Oskars’ point of view, and his grandmothers, and his grandfathers, and so on. We are able to learn and understand each character(why Oskar is looking for the key owner or why his grandfather cannot speak) as they constantly refer to their past. In The Namesake, we meet the characters Ashima and Ashoke and Gogol, as Ashima constantly reminisces about her life and family back in Bengali, Ashoke constantly thinks about his life right before his accident and Gogol learns about his fathers past and reasoning behind his name. As so many characters each reminisce about their past, whether remorseful or grateful, it creates a stronger sense of nostalgia and remembrance in the reader as well, that somewhat just radiates throughout the book as you read.

The authors also use a very specific memory of the characters to create an extremely familiarized, recurring feeling in the reader with whatever associated thoughts and memories we will have when the memory comes up. For Oskar, his 9/11 experience about his father is constant and repetitive. Ashoke constantly refers back to the night of his accident on the train ride. We see how the emotions and impact of the certain event have an effect on the growth and action of the character. Because of the September 11 terrorist attack, Oskar spends much of his time looking for closure about his father, searching the city through an entire list of ‘Blacks’. As Ashoke had an almost death experience, he feels grateful for the paper that he thinks saved his life, therefore naming his child Gogol after the author of that book. These authors use major topics in which many readers can relate to: the 9/11 terrorist attack and death itself. By doing so, every time the reader reads about the characters’ recurring memory, it will trigger whatever strong feelings, thoughts, and memories we have associated with these topics.

The books are centered around the remembrance and growth of the characters for the progression of the story. Taking it a step further, the author draws the reader in by evoking remembrance and feelings in the reader yourself, making you think and relate as you read.