3.74 AVERAGE


Relentlessly bleak. But also gripping and very well-written.

Took me a long time to get through this one! Everytime anyone asked me how I was enjoying the book, my response was "eh.. it's ok". Had a hard time getting into it and really disliked some of the characters. Towards the end it got a bit better, but overall just an ok book.
dark emotional reflective
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
challenging dark emotional funny reflective slow-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
dark emotional funny medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
emotional hopeful reflective
challenging emotional sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Loveable characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
challenging medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Ambitious in a very specific Gen-X way. This was my first experience with Franzen, and I don't know that I was prepared for the scope of the novel.

For my issues with its expansiveness, I did think the characters, their wants, their needs, and their decisions all to be fully formed. There's a version of this book in which we avoid Alfred's point of view and his hallucinations of turds that would probably earn 5 stars from me.
emotional reflective tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Fantastic in every, no, I correct: most of the details. Admirable how one family is being disected in to smaller stories that accumulate back to one.