alylentz 's review for:

The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen

3.0

challenging dark reflective tense 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

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This was my first Franzen and I thought it was the one I was most poised to like. It had been pitched to me as a book about unlikable characters and a family at odds, which I usually enjoy. And it didn't here, but something about the combination of the length with the fact that everyone is so miserable in their own unique ways made it hard for me to get through. I would read 50 pages I was really into, and then the focus would shift and I would find it slow going. I know and respect what this book was doing, I just don't believe it needed all 653 pages to accomplish it.

Every time the POV shifted to Chip I thought about giving up on the book completely, but near the end I was actually angriest at Gary and Caroline.