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carolinetew 's review for:
The Nix
by Nathan Hill
4.5/5
I think this is what Franzen (or at least Franzen in The Corrections) tries to accomplish and ultimately fails. This attempts to capture the heart of Middle America, the "average" American, while touching on a whole wide range of themes: immigration, family, the girl-next-door trope, the anti-war movement of the 60s, the recession of '09, addiction to video games....the list goes on. Some are done better than others (my least favorite being the young student who goes to great lengths to avoid punishment for her plagiarism). But ultimately this was engaging and accomplished its project.
I also think Hill does some interesting things in the different chapters on a structural level that I appreciated. They are subtle enough to go unnoticed if you don't really care, but writing a particular section with a nod to the Choose Your Own Adventure stories the main character loved as a child is the kind of creative stuff I can get behind. Not too far fetched but it does keep it fresh.
There's a lot to love about this book. Its weak point was perhaps the didactic turn the final 20 or so pages took. I agree with the sentiments but the wrap up was too long winded to feel natural. Although there were some great quotes there, the final chapters of the book felt more like an essay on identity and family than the resolution of a multi-POV, dual timeline historical fiction novel.
I think this is what Franzen (or at least Franzen in The Corrections) tries to accomplish and ultimately fails. This attempts to capture the heart of Middle America, the "average" American, while touching on a whole wide range of themes: immigration, family, the girl-next-door trope, the anti-war movement of the 60s, the recession of '09, addiction to video games....the list goes on. Some are done better than others (my least favorite being the young student who goes to great lengths to avoid punishment for her plagiarism). But ultimately this was engaging and accomplished its project.
I also think Hill does some interesting things in the different chapters on a structural level that I appreciated. They are subtle enough to go unnoticed if you don't really care, but writing a particular section with a nod to the Choose Your Own Adventure stories the main character loved as a child is the kind of creative stuff I can get behind. Not too far fetched but it does keep it fresh.
There's a lot to love about this book. Its weak point was perhaps the didactic turn the final 20 or so pages took. I agree with the sentiments but the wrap up was too long winded to feel natural. Although there were some great quotes there, the final chapters of the book felt more like an essay on identity and family than the resolution of a multi-POV, dual timeline historical fiction novel.