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ashley073's review against another edition
4.0
The thing I hate about Jonathan Franzen's essays is that they always make me want to read OTHER books. Like- the man writes about so many different books/writers that my mental "to-read" list just gets longer and longer as I make my way through his book!!
In all seriousness, this was a pretty good collection. The pieces I liked, I LOVED- the pieces I didn't like...well, they were normally pretty short and didn't get in the way too much.
Standouts:
Pain Won't Kill You
Farther Away
The Greatest Family Ever Storied
No End To It
The first three pieces were undoubtedly my favorites, but the entire book was pretty good.
The end of the book felt kind of sloppy and just...pointless. Like a lot of filler material was thrown in at the end with the shorter pieces. Our Little Planet and Our Relations were terribly boring for me and I was thrilled when I realized how short they were. Interview With New York State was frustrating as well, but quite a bit longer.
So I guess I wouldn't actually recommend the entire book, because there was a LOT of skippable material in here...but the good parts were so incredibly good that this still easily earns 4-stars from me.
I have no doubt that I'll be returning to the first two pieces time and time and time again.
In all seriousness, this was a pretty good collection. The pieces I liked, I LOVED- the pieces I didn't like...well, they were normally pretty short and didn't get in the way too much.
Standouts:
Pain Won't Kill You
Farther Away
The Greatest Family Ever Storied
No End To It
The first three pieces were undoubtedly my favorites, but the entire book was pretty good.
The end of the book felt kind of sloppy and just...pointless. Like a lot of filler material was thrown in at the end with the shorter pieces. Our Little Planet and Our Relations were terribly boring for me and I was thrilled when I realized how short they were. Interview With New York State was frustrating as well, but quite a bit longer.
So I guess I wouldn't actually recommend the entire book, because there was a LOT of skippable material in here...but the good parts were so incredibly good that this still easily earns 4-stars from me.
I have no doubt that I'll be returning to the first two pieces time and time and time again.
brianajae's review against another edition
4.0
I want to like Franzen, I really do. I always read spectacular reviews of his work and have him recommended to me by friends. This is the third work of his I've read, however, and...I just don't like them. I appreciate his writing style and passages sometimes take me by surprise at how well they are crafted. I think he is definitely very smart. But I just don't think I'm meant to be a fan. Sorry, Jonathan.
venkyloquist's review against another edition
4.0
Never before has a collection of essays been more necessary! Spanning an absorbing range of themes, Franzen has his readers engrossed in more ways than one. A book that will make one think, rethink and think again!
mrpink44's review against another edition
2.0
Grade: C This is a collection of essays and while there are a few standouts (see the two focused on birds and birding), the majority are just "ok," and the early literary criticisms and novel reviews are a bit of a struggle to pour through. Franzen did however interest me in two reviews ("Desperate Characters" and the works of Alice Munro). "Desperate Characters" was already on my TBR list and I added a few of Munro's works. So....out of all the Franzen books I've read (The Corrections, Freedom, and How to Be Alone) this is the first that I'm not giving 5 stars to. I won't be recommending it because Franzen's other works are so much more enjoyable. And if you want to read his essays, checkout "How to Be Alone" - that's definitely worth a read.
katemilty's review against another edition
4.0
I don't adore Jonathan Franzen's cynical, New-York hardenned, Mid-Western conservative contrariness. That being said, the essay on DFW's life and death reaffirmed a lot of things I had always felt were true and put into words a lot of things I could never articulate myself. That made the rest of it worth putting up with.
nikkivrc's review against another edition
3.0
I definitely prefer Franzen the non fiction writer over Franzen the fiction writer (words can't express how much torture [b:Freedom|7905092|Freedom|Jonathan Franzen|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1316729686s/7905092.jpg|9585796] was). However, a lot of the essay topics didn't interest me, particularly the ones about birds/the environment. I did enjoy reading the other ones, but the ones about books were almost all about ones that don't appeal to me. I will say he has encouraged me to give Munro a shot.
davidewright_philosophy's review against another edition
3.0
Franzen's essay and speech on David Foster Wallace are must reads for DFW fans given Franzen's friendship and perspective on Wallace as a person and fellow author (I appreciated both much more several years after Wallace's death having read more about DFW as a person), and the Munro review is pretty thoughtful and I hope it inspired more people to check out her work. In general, I'd say I enjoyed the collection (even on a re-read) but not nearly as much as his 'How to Be Alone' book of essays, which is a top-tier essay collection from my point of view. While the latter collection is worth reading in it's entirety (with only one or two weak essays), I had to push myself to read all the essays here out of 'I must finish the book in it's entirety'-type duty feelings.
noonhe's review against another edition
3.0
کتاب جالبی بود. مجموعه ای از 5 جستار از جاناتان فرنزن درباره دنیای مدرن امروز و تکنولوژی و رمان و داستان و نویسندگی.
من دو تا جستار اول رو بیشتر دوست داشتم. جستار سوم هم خیلی برام جذاب نبود.
من دو تا جستار اول رو بیشتر دوست داشتم. جستار سوم هم خیلی برام جذاب نبود.
nickyalex23's review against another edition
3.0
I wasn't a huge fan, but the first essay, "Pain Won't Kill You" was one of the greatest pieces I've ever read.
visualradish's review against another edition
3.0
My left brain loved the book reviews but my right brain was out of its depth. Here's an example - "Comedy requires only that you have a heart that can recognize other hearts."
The essays about the little birdies were truly depressing.
The essays about his dear friend Jonathan Foster Wallace were repetitive.
The essays about the little birdies were truly depressing.
The essays about his dear friend Jonathan Foster Wallace were repetitive.