Have faith, dear listener, because the mosaic becomes a clear picture as time goes by and all the characters become enmeshed in a greater story. At their first introductions, I found myself somewhat at sea, not certain as to what was "going on". Their tales unfold more subtlely than Oskar's. The other characters are also very compelling, involved as they are in their own crushing losses, confusions and disappointments. I found myself rooting furiously for success in Oskar's mission, knowing all the while that it was, of course, futile. That's why he breaks your heart with his unrelenting and purely innocent attempts to understand his unbearable loss. Oskar's so very active and acute mind is unsullied by adult resignation. Here's an example of the warped mirror of dry irony created when a child views the world with intelligent eyes. My favorite character is the child, Oskar. As for the content of the book, it's breathtaking. They perfectly evoke their characters without over-emoting. I found the book to be more like a play in that the narrators are more like fantastic "radio" actors. I have not read the print version and so, perhaps, am not prone to the sense of "something missing" in the verbalization of what, I assume, are visual representations in the book. By far the best audio book I've experienced thus far.
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