Reviews

I've never used goodreads but after finishing this book I thought I owed it a proper review in hopes of other people checking it out as this was the first book I've picked up and fully read of my own volition outside of assigned readings for high school/college in a long time.

This book is a masterful study of a dysfunctional Midwestern family at the tail end of the 20th century. The timeline jumps around a bit, but primarily it is focused on an older couple and their three adult children, who have all (parents not included) gone on to live larger, more modern lives states away from their Missourian upbringing but each dealing with their own personal troubles. Their mother attempts to bring everyone together one last time for Christmas, and in the process trudges up years of familial resentment and unresolved trauma.

Despite the sometimes fantastical subplots, the relationships from estranged sibling to estranged sibling, from neglected housewife to mentally deteriorating husband, from once deeply hurt child to now gentler and more pitiful older father, are so grounded and real--although maybe cynical for some peoples' taste. Beyond that, watching the children all struggle to create fulfilling, stable relationships in the aftermath of their childhoods is so utterly fascinating and ultimately tragic.

It is certainly not perfect. There are some strange sort of interludes of the father's dementia episodes full of out of place toilet humor that didn't quite land for me. While Franzen has a real knack for character study and often has astute sociopolitical commentary, some of his views that leak through come off as a bit jaded in an out of date, almost crotchety way. And there's some random objectifying/gross writing of women that countless otherwise incredibly astute male writers can't help but throw into their works for some reason (although this is mixed in with plenty of actually nuanced and interesting writing of women).

Even despite all of this, the heights it manages to reach are some of the highest I've experienced as a reader, and it is so worth your time. You'll get the most out of it if you have some sort of connection to the white, middle class, Midwestern experience, but I think there is a lot here for anyone. This book inspired me to read more consistently again, and even to attempt some writing of my own.

lastpaige111's review against another edition

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4.0

Tour de force that is brilliant literary fiction. Were I teaching it, there would be plenty of passages to unpack and multiple approaches would be appropriate. I see why quasi-feminists of the chick-lit variety are offended that critics salivate over Franzen, but they should stop--it's unattractive and reminds me of the old joke: Guy enters feminist bookstore and asks, "Where's the humor section?" Clerk frowns and answers with hostility, "There isn't one." Franzen has a wry dark sense of humor and his work displays a profound commitment to exposing the ugly underbelly--and sometimes just the plain old belly in which so much goes undigested--of not just American but also in some part global life (or would that be multiple levels of survival?). The text is a testament to the axiom: "If you're not outraged, you can't be paying attention." Yet, outrage with a pleasurable consumption of words tantalizes ... whether it subverts a society based on consumption is another question, but a literary question that would be so much fun to explore at greater length.