Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
The Corrections is Freedom's intellectual prequel. It's almost as good, but it misses the mark just a little bit. I think if I would have read this book before Freedom, I would have liked it more, so I do truly and really recommend it! The Corrections is very VERY good, and much better than most books I've ever read (which is a lot).
I heard that HBO was going to make a mini-series out of The Corrections, but that the network shut it down because Franzen wouldn't let them show as much gratuitous sex as is HBO's standard. That is really, really, really too bad. I wonder who would have played Chipper.
I heard that HBO was going to make a mini-series out of The Corrections, but that the network shut it down because Franzen wouldn't let them show as much gratuitous sex as is HBO's standard. That is really, really, really too bad. I wonder who would have played Chipper.
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
challenging
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3 stars is too generous, but admittedly there were times I was engrossed in the stories. But it was WORK to get there. Horribly long sentences don't make the lack of paragraphs/chapters easier to get through. To close the book, I stopped reading in the middle of sentences, which is absurd. And so much skimming and I didn't even care that I was missing things — I couldn't bear to go back and read it again.
Generally, the people are awful, but they're also people you know and maybe even people you relate to a bit. Some parts were unnecessarily weird, and I prefer characters to have a little more balance. Denise is probably the best character, but my book club all agreed that Caroline was just the worst.
Generally, the people are awful, but they're also people you know and maybe even people you relate to a bit. Some parts were unnecessarily weird, and I prefer characters to have a little more balance. Denise is probably the best character, but my book club all agreed that Caroline was just the worst.
Sad, painful, endless. Started out strong, petered into sad, painful, endless. It didn't help that I listened to this while reading Freedom, Franzen's new book. It is a relief to crawl out from under the weight of these two books. Are these families real? Are there people who live lives with no authentic feeling or connection to the important people in their lives? Maybe, but I'll be pretty hesitant to pick up another Franzen book.
I'm giving it 3 stars because he can write, there is humor and intelligence behind it all that shows through, but that's the only redeeming feature of these books.
I'm giving it 3 stars because he can write, there is humor and intelligence behind it all that shows through, but that's the only redeeming feature of these books.
emotional
funny
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
This book takes some effort to read and I found myself wondering if any of the characters would ever find redemption in life. I think some did and some didn't - either way I found the ending very powerful (maybe especially, though, because I'm currently hormonally pregnant!) I'd recommend this book but it's not one to pick up hoping for a quick read.
Whenever I want to give a book 1 star I am reminded of the quote..." do not fault the writer for what he did not set out to do.."
The book, no doubt deserves 5 stars. However 5 stars would imply that I enjoyed it. I found myself dreading picking this book up as much as I dread going to the dentist. For a period of weeks I was a little down and I did not realize why until I stopped reading. There is not one redeeming quality in the characters in this book. They are lost, broken people with out hope for a future. I kept hoping for something, anything to give me hope and yet the story line only grew more depressing.
Life isn't always happy. I don't expect literature to be either. But there is hope, beauty and wonder. None of which were present in this book. Now on page 400-something I decided my time was far too precious to finishing reading something that was a burden.
What I did LOVE was all the Philly references down to the Ikea from my hometown of Plymouth Meeting. Regardless of where life may take us there is something precious about references to our hometowns.
E
PS I have nothing against Mr Hankey, but the talking turd scene... what was THAT!? :)
The book, no doubt deserves 5 stars. However 5 stars would imply that I enjoyed it. I found myself dreading picking this book up as much as I dread going to the dentist. For a period of weeks I was a little down and I did not realize why until I stopped reading. There is not one redeeming quality in the characters in this book. They are lost, broken people with out hope for a future. I kept hoping for something, anything to give me hope and yet the story line only grew more depressing.
Life isn't always happy. I don't expect literature to be either. But there is hope, beauty and wonder. None of which were present in this book. Now on page 400-something I decided my time was far too precious to finishing reading something that was a burden.
What I did LOVE was all the Philly references down to the Ikea from my hometown of Plymouth Meeting. Regardless of where life may take us there is something precious about references to our hometowns.
E
PS I have nothing against Mr Hankey, but the talking turd scene... what was THAT!? :)
Another one of those train wreck books where I'm not really enjoying myself, but I really, really can't stop reading it.
The characters are, most of the time, loathsome. Spending most of their time making self destructive choices and blaming everyone else for their misery. But, I found the writing fantastic.
So there you have it. I loved and hated it.
The characters are, most of the time, loathsome. Spending most of their time making self destructive choices and blaming everyone else for their misery. But, I found the writing fantastic.
So there you have it. I loved and hated it.