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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I liked the writing. But the plot and characters never drew me in. It is a downbeat story. All 5 family members and any other major characters associated with them - spouses, kids, lovers, business partners are flawed and unsympathetic people. In any confrontation you do not get one you favor versus one you do not. Both are losers who you think deserve not to get their way. The book is intended to show the dysfunction of the modern family and it does very well.
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-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
wow.
one of the most grown up and complicated books i’ve ever read. feeling prettyyyy distinguished.
also one of the most viscerally and near-hangover-inducingly depressing books i’ve ever read —in the first half— which ameliorated into purely fascinating in the second.
one of the most grown up and complicated books i’ve ever read. feeling prettyyyy distinguished.
also one of the most viscerally and near-hangover-inducingly depressing books i’ve ever read —in the first half— which ameliorated into purely fascinating in the second.
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wow, what a ride. It’s not an emotionally easy book, but I’ll be damned if it doesn’t stir something inside you. As others will note, the characters are deeply flawed, but they’re very real, and I loved them for the humanity they represent.
Franzen brilliantly captures the essence of living in modernized western culture, asking us where we place our anxieties when we already have everything we need. The answer seems to be that we maniacally focus on “correcting” as much as we can control. We no longer embrace imperfection; we can’t even seem to accept it. While Franzen’s characters continue to force corrections, they dig deeper emotional holes. This book helped me see beauty in very ugly people trying to cope with the realities of living in the 21st century.
Franzen brilliantly captures the essence of living in modernized western culture, asking us where we place our anxieties when we already have everything we need. The answer seems to be that we maniacally focus on “correcting” as much as we can control. We no longer embrace imperfection; we can’t even seem to accept it. While Franzen’s characters continue to force corrections, they dig deeper emotional holes. This book helped me see beauty in very ugly people trying to cope with the realities of living in the 21st century.