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maggieandherbooks12 's review for:
Freedom
by Jonathan Franzen
I've struggled with this rating for a while because at times, I thought it was well-written and even perceptive, but at the end, I hated this book more than I thought possible. Usually, if I don't like a book, I'll simply cease to read it, but I kept on reading this slog even though I had just rented it from the library so there was no real profit lost.
At first, I even identified with Walter and Lalitha's certain environmental values, but it turns out that Walter was nearly as bad as the rest of his family, and Lalitha was written simply as an object (an "exotic" one at that, good job, Franzen). The last sentence of the book (spoiler alert?) simply refers to her as "the brown-skinned girl." Now, I love a lot of books by white straight men, but this one screamed his privilege and contempt a little too loudly. There were some sentences and unrealistic fantasies that were particularly heinous, two scenes involving feces, that felt like they were written by a talented yet horny middle schooler still obsessed with his own shit. I hated one character so much I almost wanted to throw my book down in disgust. I understand he was supposed to be problematic and disgusting, but it also seemed like Franzen was putting him on a high pedestal, and that we were supposed to love his sexist horniness and ego.
It also seems, as other reviewers have commented, that it's not a timeless tale. In 2017, and also raised in the upper middle class as a white person concerned with the planet, I couldn't relate to nearly anything in this book.
And finally, I'm pissed at myself that I bought into the hype. When I saw it on the library shelf, I thought I would finally give it a try. I didn't know a lot about the Oprah recommendation, but Leslie Knope in Parks and Recreation raves about it at one point, and hey, I love that fictional character. So because it was such a miserable read, the book's prase made it even more detestable.
Anyway, I usually don't review books, but like I said, I feel a particular hatred towards this one.
At first, I even identified with Walter and Lalitha's certain environmental values, but it turns out that Walter was nearly as bad as the rest of his family, and Lalitha was written simply as an object (an "exotic" one at that, good job, Franzen). The last sentence of the book (spoiler alert?) simply refers to her as "the brown-skinned girl." Now, I love a lot of books by white straight men, but this one screamed his privilege and contempt a little too loudly. There were some sentences and unrealistic fantasies that were particularly heinous, two scenes involving feces, that felt like they were written by a talented yet horny middle schooler still obsessed with his own shit. I hated one character so much I almost wanted to throw my book down in disgust. I understand he was supposed to be problematic and disgusting, but it also seemed like Franzen was putting him on a high pedestal, and that we were supposed to love his sexist horniness and ego.
It also seems, as other reviewers have commented, that it's not a timeless tale. In 2017, and also raised in the upper middle class as a white person concerned with the planet, I couldn't relate to nearly anything in this book.
And finally, I'm pissed at myself that I bought into the hype. When I saw it on the library shelf, I thought I would finally give it a try. I didn't know a lot about the Oprah recommendation, but Leslie Knope in Parks and Recreation raves about it at one point, and hey, I love that fictional character. So because it was such a miserable read, the book's prase made it even more detestable.
Anyway, I usually don't review books, but like I said, I feel a particular hatred towards this one.