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3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
funny
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Full disclosure: Staunch Franzen fan here, confirmed in my staunchness after Purity. My experience of the novel was uneven, loving some parts and squirming my way through others. In retrospect, squirming seems to be exactly the effect Franzen must have aimed for, what with sexual deviancy, cold-blooded murder, and, ultimately, the idea that guilt never just goes away; that we are all victims of our inner demons; and that meaningful relation to others--through love, parenthood, friendship--is the only way to make it through life and come out clean on the other end. I happen to love the main character, and I find Franzen's cultural stance--much reviled by others--to coincide perfectly with mine, so as social critique the book really works for me. His elaborate analogy between Communism and the Internet, found in "The Killer" chapter, is not just brilliant--it is the mark of a great mind and the work of a virtuoso of language.
Blegh. I had 100 pages left to go in this book, but Im pretty sure I know how it will end, so Im just going to count it as read.
This was a struggle to get through. and reading that made me think how fitting those comments were. It just wasn't for me. I will give The Corrections a chance, because I've heard good things, but this was just not for me.
This was a struggle to get through.
Spoiler
There is that part of the book where Charles (?) is writing his book and he gets awful reviews on it because its too bloated etc....
A tad tedious. I kind of spoiled it for myself by reading a review by two women who consider him a misogynist.
Wonderful reading sensation - best way to end literary 2015!
Beautifully written, profound characters (even one from santa cruz, CA, where I lived for a while :-)), nice built-up story and lots of content.
Must-read!
Beautifully written, profound characters (even one from santa cruz, CA, where I lived for a while :-)), nice built-up story and lots of content.
Must-read!
This was a lot to read. Not for those who might be offended by obscenity, some of the details are raw. There's wealth, power and the search for truth guiding Pip, a young girl just out of college trying to find her way in a very confused world. She learns some hard lessons but finds a way to call her own shots once she has all the information she needs. Plenty of social comment on the legacy the next generation has to deal with
Took until ~page250 to really get hooked... have to get over the intro to the first main character (and that she's named 'Pip') but then really appreciated (if not 'liked') the characters - insightful and thought-provoking, as always.
I cannot say how angry this book made me. Normally I'm not one for feminist rants about literature, but this book brought it out. The one female character with agency is pretty much certifiable. The rest seem to spend the novel being bounced around as sex objects for the men. It makes me incredibly grouchy.
It's not as if any of the men are portrayed in a much better light, I guess that's the one redeeming feature. Everyone is fatally flawed.
Excellently written, although there weren't passages that I wanted to write down as quotes (which I did with The Corrections), but still brilliantly written and obviously very effective at making me dislike such intensely disagreeable characters.
It's not as if any of the men are portrayed in a much better light, I guess that's the one redeeming feature. Everyone is fatally flawed.
Spoiler
Guess that makes me even more annoyed about the way things pan out. Why does it have to have a happy ending wrapped up in almost Shakespearean comedic efficiency with something akin to a marriage.Excellently written, although there weren't passages that I wanted to write down as quotes (which I did with The Corrections), but still brilliantly written and obviously very effective at making me dislike such intensely disagreeable characters.
The media loves to hate Jonathan Franzen, and I am tired of reading about him, but I fully admit that I love reading him. I almost didn't pick up his latest book because I've been reading too much about him. I'm glad I did anyway, because he's a brilliant writer (regardless of whatever else he is) and this is an ambitious novel. That said, it didn't resonate with me the way The Corrections and even Freedom did. I didn't love it, but I did enjoy reading it--quite a trip.
Started off strong. I like the voice and the tension. Towards the end I think the structure got a bit sloppy, and the oedipal stuff was a bit heavy handed. Interesting ideas on technology, however, and how that is changing the way we interact.