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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
I can't say I connected with any of the characters at first, and yet found the book perfectly readable. I had to smile at the scene of Chip wrapping a gift in tin foil, it reminded me of the time my husband did the exact same thing one Xmas eve!! It is basically a story about a family and trying to get together for Christmas, and yet it explores each of the characters individually, their background, their secrets. As I said I didn't connect with any of them at first, but as Alfred's health deteriorates it gave me a lot of food for thought. We lost my father-in-law a couple of years ago now, and it made me wonder if this was the sort of things going through his mind.
Le prime 300 pagine sono un po’ ostiche. E ci ho messo un po’ a capire perché, anche dopo averle superate.
Il motivo per cui ci ho messo così tanto a finirlo è che ho odiato OGNI SINGOLO personaggio dall’inizio alla fine del romanzo. Dopo aver superato lo scoglio iniziale, ho continuato solo per la speranza che finissero tutti sotto a un autobus. Così non è stato.
Sono comunque contenta di averlo finito. La scrittura di Franzen è forse un po’ pomposa e spesso autoreferenziale, i capitoli sono chilometrici e le vicende a prima vista appaiono sconnesse. Ciononostante, penso valga la pena leggerlo.
Il motivo per cui ci ho messo così tanto a finirlo è che ho odiato OGNI SINGOLO personaggio dall’inizio alla fine del romanzo. Dopo aver superato lo scoglio iniziale, ho continuato solo per la speranza che finissero tutti sotto a un autobus. Così non è stato.
Sono comunque contenta di averlo finito. La scrittura di Franzen è forse un po’ pomposa e spesso autoreferenziale, i capitoli sono chilometrici e le vicende a prima vista appaiono sconnesse. Ciononostante, penso valga la pena leggerlo.
I started reading This book many years ago and I wasn’t in the right time or place to finish it.
I bought it on Audible to give it another go during my daily commute.
Let me tell you, the narrator really makes the book. I will definitely be listening to more books by him as he is phenomenal.
I bought it on Audible to give it another go during my daily commute.
Let me tell you, the narrator really makes the book. I will definitely be listening to more books by him as he is phenomenal.
Franzen's writing is really interesting and engaging--I can see why he stands out as one of the big names in contemporary literature. That being said, I don't know if I could say I wholly enjoyed the book. All the characters are vaguely unlikeable and their situations seem bleak and depressing most of the time, with dark humor interspersed. Not my favorite.
I only finished this one because I try not to give up on any books. This book was disjointed, weird, and totally pointless. Don't see how it ended up as an Oprah's book club choice, but to each their own.
With books like "The Corrections" there is no way I can give them a star rating. Reasons for this is that I feel this novel, and others like it, where hard for me to get through. I did finish it and I did enjoy parts of it but it shouldn't take any novel several hundred of pages for me to get into it. Maybe it is that the characters are so unlikable, which I didn't think I would mind, but reading about Gary specially just got to me. Gary's character is flawed and realistic but such an ass and his whole family is just very annoying. Gary's part of the book was the hardest one in the novel for me to get through.
Chip I couldn't connect to but I didn't mind him. He feels like the character of people around me - irresponsible, makes bad decisions and doesn't really know what to with his life.
Then around the 400 page mark Denise's part starts which was the most enjoyable for me. I thinks she's the character I could kind of connect with, even though she's very flawed and makes plenty of bad choices. Somehow I could see or believe her story better than the others.
Enid and Albert, what a messed up couple.
I think the characters are very believable that Franzen writes and the tension between them, at least to me, seems very really. It's just hard for me to read because I'm a person who doesn't like tension and people not saying what they want or are thinking.
I liked the ending though. It wasn't what I expected but then again nothing in this novel was something I expected.
I don't know if this makes it clear what I thought of the novel and if it doesn't it is because I'm still not sure. Anyway I read it and it made me think, so that's something.
Chip I couldn't connect to but I didn't mind him. He feels like the character of people around me - irresponsible, makes bad decisions and doesn't really know what to with his life.
Then around the 400 page mark Denise's part starts which was the most enjoyable for me. I thinks she's the character I could kind of connect with, even though she's very flawed and makes plenty of bad choices. Somehow I could see or believe her story better than the others.
Enid and Albert, what a messed up couple.
I think the characters are very believable that Franzen writes and the tension between them, at least to me, seems very really. It's just hard for me to read because I'm a person who doesn't like tension and people not saying what they want or are thinking.
I liked the ending though. It wasn't what I expected but then again nothing in this novel was something I expected.
I don't know if this makes it clear what I thought of the novel and if it doesn't it is because I'm still not sure. Anyway I read it and it made me think, so that's something.
Have read it when I was still in high school, but feeling differently re-reading it a few years later.