EAST LANSING, Mich. — The One Book, One Community (OBOC) kick-off events originally scheduled for Aug. 28-29 have been rescheduled for Sunday, Sept. 25 at 7 p.m. at Wharton Center's Cobb Great Hall. At this event, Foer will discuss the book, take questions from the audience and sign books. Community members of all ages, including MSU students, are encouraged to attend this FREE event. Tickets are not required and parking is free.

Jonathan Safran Foer, author of this year’s OBOC selection “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,” was unable to travel from New York for the original kick-off events due to Hurricane Irene.

There are a number of additional opportunities for community members to catch Foer’s visit to East Lansing:
- Foer’s Sept. 25 visit will be recorded and rerun on East Lansing’s government channel, Channel 22 (WELG). Air times will be Sundays and Mondays at noon and 8 p.m. from Oct. 3-28.
- A recording of Foer’s Aug. 28 visit will be made available to borrow at the East Lansing Public Library, 950 Abbot Road, beginning Friday, Sept. 30.

Community & Campus Events (through Sept. 29)
All other community and campus events centered on the themes of this year’s book will take place throughout the month of September as originally scheduled. Events include a MSU Department of Theatre production, an Oskar-inspired Scavenger Hunt, public film showings, a New York Wine Dinner, a writing workshop, one-on-one book discussions and other related events. Visit www.onebookeastlansing.com to view the full calendar of events.

About the Author
Jonathan Safran Foer is best known for his bestselling novels “Everything Is Illuminated” and “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,” as well as his non-fiction book, “Eating Animals.” A film adaptation of “Everything Is Illuminated,” starring Elijah Wood, was released in 2005 and a film adaptation of “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,” starring Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock, will be released in 2012.

About the Book
Foer’s wildly lauded novel tells the story of young Oskar Schell’s hilarious and heartbreaking search to make sense of the death of his father in the World Trade Center on 9/11. One year after his father’s death, grief stricken, but undaunted, the nine-year-old boy sets out on an odyssey across the five boroughs of New York City to find the lock that matches a mysterious key found in his father’s closet.

It’s not often a reader encounters a character quite like Oskar. He is engaging, endearing, exasperating, precocious, irritating and highly imaginative, as well as a sweetly suffering little boy who remembers his father as only a lonely child can. Along the way Oskar meets an assortment of New York City characters that show him compassion and encouragement. Oskar’s story is not about 9/11 itself; it’s about the consequences of that terrible terrorist act on those who survived. It is also a reflection of history repeating itself, as seen through the parallel suffering of Oskar’s grandparents, who survived the firebombing of Dresden during World War ll. 

Foer incorporates interconnecting storylines, photographs, drawings and a 14-page flip book to tell the story. While the 9/11 tragedy is the backdrop of this story, its universal theme is war and its inevitable feeling of loss, pain and suffering. Foer captures this theme with a writing style that is compassionate, while at the same time humorous.

About the Program
The annual One Book, One Community program, sponsored by the City of East Lansing and Michigan State University, encourages the city-university community to read the same book and come together to discuss it in a variety of settings. The book is an assigned reading for all incoming MSU freshmen. Visit www.onebookeastlansing.com to learn more.
                     
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