Linda's review
The corrections by Jonathan Franzen
I'm aiming for the highest superlative I can think of. And so I will have to say it. Perfect. People joke all the time about "the" Great AMERICAN NNOOVVEELLL! And quietly, beautifully Jonathan Franzen wrote it.
This is a very ambitious book about "the family." All the characters are crazy. And they drive me crazy. Sometimes I really don't like them. Alfred can make me so mad or Enid making me cringe. I don't always like Denise or Gary or Chip (and their parents) but I understand them... They are so real!
What I love is how Franzen takes his time unfolding these characters. He's into the book some 75% of the way and it feels like he still introducing the characters. There's no rush in this book. Characters come out to us little by little. They are beautiful and funny and bitter and always always they're alive and complex.
I'm exactly half way through. I'll let you know if I still feel as strongly at the end. I think I'll still feel the sa...more
This is a very ambitious book about "the family." All the characters are crazy. And they drive me crazy. Sometimes I really don't like them. Alfred can make me so mad or Enid making me cringe. I don't always like Denise or Gary or Chip (and their parents) but I understand them... They are so real!
What I love is how Franzen takes his time unfolding these characters. He's into the book some 75% of the way and it feels like he still introducing the characters. There's no rush in this book. Characters come out to us little by little. They are beautiful and funny and bitter and always always they're alive and complex.
I'm exactly half way through. I'll let you know if I still feel as strongly at the end. I think I'll still feel the sa...more
