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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
I read this a ways back, but had the opportunity to listen to the audio version recently. I think I liked it better the second time around. I am a sucker for dysfunctional families--after all, can you find a "normal" family anywhere? It demonstrates how parents are perceived by children--who never get it that they'll someday be in the same place. It discusses the bitterness of getting old, of how hard it would be to lose oneself in the vagaries of dementia. The mother deals with cutting herself free from both her children and her spouse in order to salvage some life for herself after many years of parenting and being a spouse. The oldest child is a little stinker, and hard to feel much sympathy for. The daughter's life does not turn out as she had hoped; and you see her come to terms with her reality and look forward. The middle son, after a lifetime of slacking along, finally finds motivation to evolve and become an adult in the book.
I know I'm 14 years behind the curve, but I finally read The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen. I'm going to be frank, I have a really hard time with Franzen. I can appreciate him as a quality writer and I found some very tender moments in the book that touched me. I can also understand some of the criticisms of our society he makes. But, I also struggle with how bleak and angry and judgemental his writing feels. And those moments of tenderness and love weren't enough to carry me through all the rest of the family baggage. The dysfunction and resentment in this family was a little too much for me to take at times. With Gary especially, I just wanted to shout "get over yourself". And, I guess the whole idea of having a family as being mostly a drudgery just rubs me the wrong way. Finally, as a Midwesterner, I call BS on all the things that were portrayed as Midwestern and negative, that stuff was just American.
I have trouble with stories involving characters I don't like, or ones that aren't presented with redeeming qualities. I gave this book two really serious tries, because so many people I talked with love it (husband included). But I finally had to admit that I was forcing myself to open the pages, and gave it up. If I was able to read more objectively, I probably would have appreciated the fine writing and adept storytelling without letting the characters dictate my enjoyment. But alas, I'm an emotional reader (or, emotional human), and I'm letting this one go. Sorry, Franzen - I'll give Freedom a go!
Really hard going, horrible people, well written but not worth the bother.
Liked this one fine, but don’t totally get the hype. Maybe it’s lost its luster 25 years after publication? It’s a pretty typical family tale with multiple perspectives ultimately all revolving around the Dad’s current ailments and past maltreatment (truly it’s all about the patriarchy here). I do think Franzen does a wonderful job of delving into the father’s world and presenting him as a complete character, but I wish he’d spent more time on Chip and Denise (the kids) as well as Enid (the wife). (The first born son, Gary, gets plenty of screen time).
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Meandering and difficult to stay with at times, but also heart-wrenching. None of the people are extraordinary, which makes it so realistic.
Provocative is right! Eliza was reading this simultaneously (a coincidence) during the Birkie weekend and said that every character is either despicable or pathetic, and I think she was onto something. Every character is cruel in their own ways, and balanced only by the unkindesses wielded by others unto them - but I'd have to read it again to even have a shot at deciding if any one character is better than the rest. Maybe Chip? All of their names are unfortunate anyhow.
Flipping back to the beginning of the book and realizing just how much ground, emotionally, geographically, and developmentally (for Alfred's Parkinsons) was covered in the book was just short of stunning. The salmon scene remains extremely vivid in my memory - I almost made a salmon martini for Sam's birthday in honor, but maybe a tequila reposado cocktail in the likeness of Mexican A would have been a better avenue regardless. However unflattering, I also enjoyed the inclusion of some lesbian "romance". Franzen's ability to turn a slightly upsetting scene into a complexly disturbing saga is quite impressive. Also - so many completely foreign words!! Fun to be compelled to google so much new vocab. The nouns felt more pretentious than the rest.
Flipping back to the beginning of the book and realizing just how much ground, emotionally, geographically, and developmentally (for Alfred's Parkinsons) was covered in the book was just short of stunning. The salmon scene remains extremely vivid in my memory - I almost made a salmon martini for Sam's birthday in honor, but maybe a tequila reposado cocktail in the likeness of Mexican A would have been a better avenue regardless. However unflattering, I also enjoyed the inclusion of some lesbian "romance". Franzen's ability to turn a slightly upsetting scene into a complexly disturbing saga is quite impressive. Also - so many completely foreign words!! Fun to be compelled to google so much new vocab. The nouns felt more pretentious than the rest.
challenging
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I struggled through this book, but I'm glad I stuck it out. I found myself cringing most of the time, finding pretty much every character deplorable, but still at the end I had to admit that I didn't hate what I had read. But I certainly didn't love it either.
I loved the writing and the depth of the characters in this story. Serious fiction, indeed.