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A review by jgraydee
The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen
5.0
I hesitate to give this novel five stars -- it is definitely not a story that will appeal to everyone -- but it was a story that "got into my head" and kept me interested in reading for the next revelation.
The adult children reflect on their own lives, the positives and the negatives. Each child has deep seated, emotional problems with their parents, but also a strong desire to never disappoint either parent. The siblings have a close, honest with each other, but struggle to be honest with their parents. This is partly a personal decision on their part to deceive, but is also the result of a mid-western, prudish mother who doesn't want to hear anything honest or controversial, and a distant father who has a rapidly progressing dementia.
I skimmed some parts of the novel in great detail -- namely, the beginning of the book which describes Chip's literary occupation and the technical/financial information about Axon Corporation. I just found these parts of the book to be unnecessarily hard to follow.
The adult children reflect on their own lives, the positives and the negatives. Each child has deep seated, emotional problems with their parents, but also a strong desire to never disappoint either parent. The siblings have a close, honest with each other, but struggle to be honest with their parents. This is partly a personal decision on their part to deceive, but is also the result of a mid-western, prudish mother who doesn't want to hear anything honest or controversial, and a distant father who has a rapidly progressing dementia.
I skimmed some parts of the novel in great detail -- namely, the beginning of the book which describes Chip's literary occupation and the technical/financial information about Axon Corporation. I just found these parts of the book to be unnecessarily hard to follow.