lakegirl603 's review for:

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen

3.0

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Wow. I am not one for writing reviews, but felt my rating needed an explanation. This novel was, at times, an extremely thought provoking look at contemporary society, and the accompanying societal and political issues, through the lives of one family. I detested every single character in this book, however, and while some portions of the book were brilliantly written, at other times, it was a slog. I thought, as a SAHM, I might identify with Patty, and while I identified with some of her issues, wow, was she an asshat. Every character in this book was an asshat. While this was a dark look at our society, and with our current political climate I can appreciate that view, I was looking for just one moment of redemption. Yep, nope. So my rating pays credence to the fact that many hailed this as the "must read" in 2010, and while there is some very worthy social commentary in the novel, it was not likable, and at some points, was laborious reading. In other words, at times it rated 4 stars and at times it rated 1, so I generously gave it a 3.