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Nov 13, 2011

RandomAnthony rated it:

I read Freedom the week before Christmas. What was I thinking? Did I want a bleak, almost sullen, portrayal of America in the new century? And not a complete one, either, but limited to privileged white people? Why didn’t I just sit on the couch, get drunk, and watch Salt and Easy A? Ok, I did that, too, but my kids were off of school and apparently believe they should get to watch television as well, so I went upstairs and read away a few afternoons. Stupid Freedom. Mr. Franzen, you’re g More...

23 comments like (128 people liked it)

Jan 25, 2011

Kemper rated it:

*Update 9/23 - Jonathan Franzen was in town doing a reading & signing last night, and after listening to him talk, I’m officially backing off of theory #1 below. He does not seem like a douche bag, at all. In fact, despite all the Oprah hoopla (Which he described as a fiasco, not because of anything that he or Oprah did, but because the whole thing got blown out of proportion.) and the backlash after the early raves for Freedom, Franzen came across as remarkably down-to-earth and funny. He se More...

38 comments like (101 people liked it)

Aug 20, 2011

Paul rated it:

This book hoovers you into its world from the first page and before you know what's what you've missed your bus stop and you are into it. But there are problems. Yes. I will tell you about some of them. You would expect no less of me.

I was reading along with the main character Patty Berglund’s autobiographical statement “Mistakes Were Made” (p 27 – 187) and was lapping it up until soap bubbles began appearing between me and the page. The bubbles became suds – undeniable suds. I could More...

29 comments like (44 people liked it)

Aug 02, 2011

Ben rated it:

Here's the thing about this book: I was really expecting to enjoy it. I say that for two reasons. The first is The Corrections. Not the book itself, which is still quietly residing on my shelf, waiting for its day in the sun… Nay, I speak of the buzz. You see, I know people. And a lot of those people read things. And some of those things were their own copies of The Corrections. And the buzz was, as far as I could tell, that the people that I know liked The Corrections. In fact, their o More...

17 comments like (44 people liked it)

May 06, 2011

Sandybanks rated it:

Have you ever…

had a dysfunctional relationship with your parents?

had a college best friend that turned out to be toxic?

started up as an idealist but then compromised into working for the dark side?

cheated on your nice guy husband with his cool best friend?

had a teenage son who ran away from home to shack up with the neighbor’s underage daughter?

been corrupted by the military-industrial complex?

If you answer " More...

37 comments like (29 people liked it)

Aug 16, 2011

Paquita Maria rated it:

After reading Wuthering Heights, I had this idea: I should make a bookshelf called "Assholes and Asshats," a little place that could serve as a warning to people who immediately disregard books containing characters they have trouble relating to and sympathizing with. You know, jerks, dickwads, the stoney cold and self-involved, the pompously mean and rich or bitterly poor and junk-addled characters loitering about within the pages of many harder-to-swallow books. Personally, I have More...

38 comments like (38 people liked it)

Sep 17, 2010

Jessica rated it:

Okay, so earlier this summer I was waiting to see The National play Prospect Park ("Of course you were, Jessica...." -- but bear with me, that's my point), and I sent a text message to the guy who'd given me the tickets, thanking him again and observing that "White People don't LIKE seeing The National play Prospect Park; White People LOVE seeing The National play Prospect Park." This was a reference, of course, to the oft-quoted blog that holds a very high place on the seemi More...

27 comments like (97 people liked it)

Aug 23, 2010

Mike rated it:

Okay, 3 stars might seem cussedly contrary, a cheap goldilocks diversion away from the current hyped-up epidemic of 5s and the utterly derisive lowballers who JF just rubs the wrong way* (and sidestepping, too, the inevitable anti-Franzen backlash, coming soon to a review near you).

'Cause there are things I love here. Franzen sculpts, particularly in the brilliant first hundred (or so) pages, a precise and subtly eccentric narrative structure which defines an expansiveness--literall More...

30 comments like (70 people liked it)

Jan 02, 2012

Jen rated it:

Freedom has the two-and-a-half-dimensional feel of reality television. I enjoy reading it, but I'm not convinced that any of the characters (especially Patty) is really so good at taking punches. I read this book as I might Greek mythology. Franzen the jovial God, getting kicks out of kicking his characters but never quite believing any of them could ever really exist. I don't believe any of them could exist either, but then again, who cares?
It's definitely a five-star so far. Very f More...

7 comments like (12 people liked it)

Dec 21, 2010

Gary rated it:

God, I saw Jonathan in person at Christ's church Cathedral. Over 800 people there. I got my book signed,and when we first talked, I said "Hey" and he said "Hey" back. Cool Dude. We talked about how I got a copy of Time with his picture on the cover. I had tried to find a copy in the store with no luck, so a friend of mine, I had mentioned that to, stole a copy from her eye doctor's office. I told Jonathan about that,and he smirked and kinda chuckled,and signed my books, and t More...

11 comments like (14 people liked it)

Jan 02, 2012

Thomas rated it:

If this book is a harbinger for the rest of my reading experiences in 2011, it will definitely be an interesting, albeit slightly annoying year.

I tend to read books fast - flipping through the pages at a breakneck speed so I can move on to the next one - but Freedom made me slow down to appreciate Jonathan Franzen's beautiful, ingenious prose. He possesses a style of writing I have never had the pleasure to read before; it's poetic yet concise, and the narrative is cunning and intell More...

0 comments like (7 people liked it)

Sep 08, 2010

David rated it:

Scattered observations:

*Writers probably can't ever ditch certain fundamental aspects of their style. With DFW it's the slightly manic, ever-looping association of ideas as his brain connects his current thought to stuff you would never have imagined. Franzen seems unable to dodge the unevenness trap - brilliant for long stretches, interspersed with material that is either preachy, superfluous, or both.

*Less powerful than "The Corrections" because his characters More...

4 comments like (15 people liked it)

Aug 11, 2011

Stephen M rated it:

Jonathan Franzen has a thing for doody.

And when I say doody I mean human fecal matter in all its wondrous metaphorical implications.* If you didn’t think that poopy could make for an effect literary device, then wait till your eyes digest a few specific pages of this bad boy. It might make you defecate in excitement! When primary character, Joey Bergland, is pulling apart a piece of his own crapola to save his wedding band from the assured irretrievability of the Texas sewage system, More...

5 comments like (11 people liked it)

Sep 12, 2011

K.D. rated it:

Frank, honest, sad yet not in any way melodramatic. These are, for me, what make Freedom stands out from the other American contemporary novels that emphatically talk about dysfunctional families without eliciting reactions from your tear ducts. Franzen made a lot of sense when he expressed his concern over the inclusion of The Corrections among Oprah's books because most of Oprah’s books are told in the point of view of women and so they are womanly in perspectives and so they are read mostly b More...

18 comments like (16 people liked it)

Dec 26, 2010

Lori rated it:

Let's see if "the greatest American writer" captivates me more with this than The Corrections, which I discarded about 2/3 of the way through. The man can certainly write, but I'm not sure I'm going to like any of these characters much more than the ones in The Corrections.

9/30 update: Well, once again I will prove just how uncool I am, because I'm thinking this is really very good, I'm engrossed, I like the characters flaws and all, unlike The Corrections this book has heart More...

4 comments like (8 people liked it)

Dec 26, 2011

Kelanth, numquam risit ubi dracones vivunt rated it:

Franzen è capace di rendere le vite normali delle persone delle storie che non smetteresti mai di leggere. E’ praticamente difficile riuscire ad abbandonare la lettura una volta iniziata. Sembra di avere colla tra le mani, più che un libro di narrativa. Posato il libro attendi il momento per poterlo riprendere per vedere cosa sta succedendo, come se la vita dei personaggi attendesse sospesa le dita del lettore affamato.
L’autore si rivela immediatamente, come uno dei migliori contemporanei, More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Nov 10, 2011

Kinga rated it:

UPDATED.

To keep in style of the book this review will be just a lot of rambling.

I mean, it was mostly a soap opera. And I just don’t do soap operas. I can just about manage about 10 minutes every 5th episode, but that’s about it. And Franzen submitted me to 570 bloody pages of a soap opera which I had to digest in a few sittings.
Like in all soap operas, everything ends well and love conquers all, of course some characters might have to be killed off along the way, but More...

12 comments like (16 people liked it)

Aug 24, 2011

Maia rated it:

Well, I finished Freedom quite a while ago and one of my Bookclubs has already discussed it (ad nauseam, I may add) to a predictably contradictory and confusing mix of reviews. Unsurprisingly, at least half the members were unequivocally 'for' while another half were just as 'against' and then a few--such as myself--remained on the fence, not yet 100% sure. I'm still not sure. I waited this long before posting an actual review because I've still been digesting--not the book, exactly, or even its More...

3 comments like (7 people liked it)

Feb 06, 2011

Katie rated it:

Freedom is Terrible, by Katie G.
(Abridged for your convenience in list form)

Before you think I'm mean, please note that "freedom is terrible" is kind of the point of Franzen's book: Freedom doesn't get you what you want. Uninhibited, it brings a whole slew of problems along with it and, assuming you're not a slave or living in North Korea, the fact that your life is miserable is not due to a lack of freedom.

Ironically, you can also substitute the book F More...

2 comments like (33 people liked it)

Jan 14, 2011

Brent rated it:

Shamelessly conventional, both in style (especially in style) and subject. Packed with adverbs. Multitudes of awkward passages. Lacking in musicality. Poetryless. Written as if English were a tool rather than an instrument. Super shrill -- three of the four main characters seem to speak and even think at only the highest volume. There are no conversations, only arguments. Timid of mystery and everything is explained. Chock full of contemporary zzzzzzzz trivia and contemporary zzzzzzz culture. At More...

4 comments like (20 people liked it)

Oct 10, 2010

Hundeschlitten rated it:

If nothing else, "Freedom" is a page-turner. And, unlike so many contemporary novelists, Franzen really seems to care about his characters. And I got to care about them, too.

The downside is that, while I grew to care about the characters in this novel, I didn't really like them. In fact, most of the guys, in particular, were pretty insufferable. The only exception was Patty, the female lead, who is definitely the soul of the novel.

Also, the plot twists and the s More...

2 comments like (7 people liked it)

Nov 16, 2010

Justine rated it:

I loved this book. Could not put it down. What made it so compelling for me was Franzen's acute psychological eye, his ability to get inside family dynamics and deconstruct relationships, to create tension and suspense through the ways we get along with each other. And don't.

Patty is a gifted athlete growing up in a family that doesn't value athletics. When she's raped at 17, her mother makes an effort to say the proper things but sells her out to advance her political career. Patt More...

2 comments like (11 people liked it)

Nov 19, 2011

Lou rated it:

The writing style was flowing quite well but i just lost interest in the characters.The story tells you about reality of everyday life for a few characters, their lives of sex politics and spin. There was one too many rants about the world and politics. For a book thats talked about in mainstream media alot packs quite alot of explicit sexual situations which the cover should have a warning to readers.

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Mar 10, 2011

Roxanne rated it:

Yes -I get the idea. But I just could not escape the feeling of tuning in to a soap opera a month after you watched it last and - alas - you didn't miss a thing. Round and round and round we go - never getting anywhere - and so much of the book seemed the same. Possibly this was meant to be. But the message of our misguided quest for freedom doesn't really hit home to me either. I get it - but I did not see this acumen and insight into human nature that this book is lauded for. Frankly, I have r More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Aug 19, 2010

Hannah rated it:

During:
This started out SOLID (sharp, judgy, conflicted) and is sagging a little in the middle (baggy plotline, improbable ardor). I, too, sag a little in the middle, however, and will not hold it against Mr. Franzen until I find out whether he salvages his saggy middle with a supersweet tail end (as I, likewise, do).

After:
I kind of want to give this two stars but would feel like a real heel if I did . . . I mean, obviously he's trying. And I love him, and when someon More...

5 comments like (15 people liked it)

Feb 23, 2011

Leah rated it:

ohhhh, well. i might need to process this book more before i review it, but i'm going to attempt something now.

first of all, keep in mind that i'm a character person. as long as the characters are interesting and the writing is interesting then i'm hooked. i don't really care if there's a plot, which is good, cause this book didn't really have one. but i *really* enjoyed the characters - i found them all, for the most part, fascinating, flawed, nuanced, angsty, confused, depressed, More...

5 comments like (5 people liked it)

Dec 18, 2010

Howard rated it:

Good enough for what it is, but like The Corrections, not special enough for all the fuss that's made about it. It's even a great read, an absorbing, well-written page-turner, but there aren't really any insights in here that aren't already floating around, the characters conform to what the culture says they're supposed to be, and it even has a happy ending, with everyone rewarded for being well-meaning. It's an NPR novel.

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

Oct 12, 2011

Mark rated it:

"Beach Read" is the shelf for this one. The book could capture you and make for a good titilating way to while away the plane ride, then I'll leave it at the security checkpoint for the next weary traveller. Once I actually get to the beach I'll hope for something a little better.

I couldn't say chick-lit, because while it won't resonate with boys, (chick: check!) it didn't rise to the "lit" bar (lit? Fail.) in my opinion.

Jane Austen, I can get, (it More...

10 comments like (2 people liked it)

May 25, 2011

Steven rated it:

Freedom is difficult for me to review. So, I'll just share some random thoughts:

--It's a really engaging read. No doubt Franzen is a superb writer. I feel like Freedom is great as a novel but only an average work of literature, if that makes any sense.

--The character of Richard Katz, who looks like Qadhaffi, is the most interesting and the easiest one with whom to be fascinated.

--I say this as a compliment: Franzen knows white people. Listen, don't More...

2 comments like (5 people liked it)

Nov 09, 2011

Megan rated it:

'Freedom' is pretty much a perfect example of the upper-middle class whimper that passes for liberal politics or social critique at the moment. (That is: it's boring, more conservative than it realizes, coming from a deep place of fear, and providing almost no real solutions to anything.)

I was pretty set to write a much longer and more scathing review, but then I rather liked the last chapter, which weakened my resolve. So I'll just leave it at the above.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)