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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
What an unrewarding slog. I don't know why people like Jonathan Franzen. Yes, his characters were well constructed, interesting and quirky, yet each had such a swath of darkness in them to render them completely unsympathetic. Why did this book have to be so long? It was a 200 page story padded with 400 pages of needless detail. Many times reading this I felt a discomfort akin to being trapped in a room with a boring relative telling a long story and having to listen politely for hours with no relief in sight! If this book, as some reviews have indicated, is meant to be a vignette of a typical Midwestern family, then I can only deduce that Franzen hates Midwesterners and wants all his readers to hate them too. I can say with confidence that I won't be giving Franzen books any more of my time.
Social commentary that holds up well in last 20 years. Meanders in places, but strongly told and reader understandings of characters develops throughout the novel.
I was recommended this book by a colleague who is an avid reader and rates this as one of the best books he has ever read. I don't agree with him. The book certainly has moments of beauty and pathos; it is clever, funny and for the most part extremely well written. The narrative strands of the novel are complex, but never confusing, and the shifts between characters and time frames feel natural and effortless. No mean feat for a 650 page book. The sentiments of the author regarding the over-consumption and hollowness of aspects of modern life are ones that I share, and at times it is acutely perceptive and funny. However, the characters are so self-absorbed, narcissistic, vain, and shallow, and with so little self control, that they were, at least for me, unbelievable. I therefore almost entirely failed to share their dilemmas, which were often only dilemmas due to their sociopathic selfishness, and ended up not caring very much what happened to them. Franzen spends an enormous amount of time inside the characters' heads, and the inner monologues often feel brutally honest to the point of self confessional, but it just didn't generate anything other than a slightly nauseous feeling rather than any empathy. On occasion the references to "corrections" felt like they had been crow-barred into the book, jarring and disrupting the narrative flow, and some of the writing about sex left me cringing. It is certainly a clever, accomplished, at times beautifully written book, but in the end it left me rather cold and unmoved.
This book was a random pick off the "1001 Books" list. It's definitely one of those books that can be difficult to read because I didn't really like any of the characters. All the characters are flawed, but I think that's what makes the book better and "more real". I was pulled into the story, despite not really wanting to. You hope you wouldn't act the same way when faced with similar situations. The book was long, but well worth it. I wasn't sure if I'd get enough closure in the end, but I did.
Worth reading if you can handle not really liking any of the characters and are in for a more serious read.
Worth reading if you can handle not really liking any of the characters and are in for a more serious read.
The most gripping group of miscreants I've ever come across.
I started this book so long ago, I feel like I have run a marathon a half mile at a time. There were times when I thought some editing was in order, but here I sit, with tear-stained cheeks, marveling.
Probably not worth the 600 page slog. Some of the character descriptions are absolutely brilliant and you feel absolutely transported back to your dysfunctional Midwest family in the early oughts (I imagine I would be Jonah?). Other the times the narratives get so convoluted and odd that you quite literally lose the plot.
I really wanted to like this more than I did. Intriguing story with truly unlikable people at the heart of it. And one of those books with too many words cluttering up the story. I like multiple perspective chapters which this definitely has… But just not as fabulous as I wanted it to be. Love the 70s and a lot of that I remember. Just truly dislikable people. I read this is supposed to be a trilogy. I may finish it. But we’ll see. I know people rave over Franzen… I just don’t get it.
Possibly the most painful read in my life, so far.