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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Perhaps I’ll finish this someday but if you teach contemporary american lit at uvu, you ruined this for me
It was really hard to get through this book when it came to Alfred and the effects his illnesses had on his kids. I'm entering that stage with my father right now where I know it will not be too far away that I will have to be concerned and help my mother take care of him. So it's been hard emotionally to read it and not attach it to my own life. Otherwise a great and taxing read.
I think it’s longer than it needs to be and spends a lot of time building so much detail that you get lost in it. So in many ways it makes it tricky to get into. Also, all of the characters have a lot of damage and therefore it makes them all unlikable in one way or another.
However, as it goes on, you get invested. Despite not sympathising with the characters much, you start to understand their stress and relate it either to yourself or people you know, or the relationships you have with your family.
And this is what the book is so good at - highlighting the opinions, expectations, and disappointments we have individually and of others in our family. And how one personality trait or event is very different from the other point of view.
They were all flawed in one way or another and they all acted like dicks most of the time. But I must admit, by the end I was quite emotional about Alfred’s demise, even though he was stubborn to the end, and felt so sorry for Enid, even though she was bitter to end.
However, as it goes on, you get invested. Despite not sympathising with the characters much, you start to understand their stress and relate it either to yourself or people you know, or the relationships you have with your family.
And this is what the book is so good at - highlighting the opinions, expectations, and disappointments we have individually and of others in our family. And how one personality trait or event is very different from the other point of view.
They were all flawed in one way or another and they all acted like dicks most of the time. But I must admit, by the end I was quite emotional about Alfred’s demise, even though he was stubborn to the end, and felt so sorry for Enid, even though she was bitter to end.
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book was pretty good. I like the way Jonathan Franzen writes. He gives plenty of sensory detail which I enjoy. The character developments were great as well. I would say that I loved this book except that the end was a little bit of a let down for me. It is divided into several sections where each has a different main character all from the same family occurring basically simultaneaosly. Its sort of cool because you get all sides of the story. It starts out with the adult youngest son in the family and follows his life as his career as a professor crumbles due to sabotage by a young student and the adventures that follow sending him from New York City on dangerous ventures to other countries with disintegrating regimes and more failed romances. The second section follows the middle child adult sister on her adventures through lesbianism, adultery and her job as head chef at a new restaurant in Philadelphia. The third follows the oldest son in his failing marriage and job due to his depression. The backdrop of all of these are the elderly parents whose nagging and stubbornness shine through as they take a cruise and annoy their children. The story culminates at the end with the mothers dream of having one last family Christmas at their childhood home. This description sounds dark but trust me this book is extremely funny and amusing.
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Ugly people described with a sneer. I saw the potential for a good book or two or three in there, but the book was just a mess with story lines all over the place and really obnoxious annoying characters. It was as if Franzen didn't really know any real people and wrote from a collection of stereotypes he carried around in his head.
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Saw a review where someone said this was “long and depressing” and gave it 2 stars. I would like to concur it is long depressing babey!!!! And I had a great time