Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
I think when I first this book, I was sort of in the haze of having read The Corrections a few times, and in the somewhat backlash to Franzen. Now, I feel like there’s been a kind of Franzennaisance. In this new world, his novels are a little more familiar and even with the middling reviews for Purity helped to create a stabilizing of the market, so to speak. Anyway, re-reading the novel now, I liked it a lot better. One of the elements that […]
The Discomfort Zone by Jonathan Franzen
The Discomfort Zone – 4/5 Stars The Discomfort Zone of the title of this book is play on a constant fight that Jonathan Franzen explains his parents had over the course of their marriage. His mother, tired and hot from working in the house all day, prefers to set the thermostat cool, the implication being more the lack of heat than the turning on of the air conditioner. His father expects to come home to a warm house or a temperate house and refers to […]
Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen
Something I wasn’t aware of when I read this book (I’m not quite sure how I missed it) but other potential readers may want to know – this book is meant to be the first in a trilogy. I came across that piece of information before I finished the novel but after I was well into it. Knowing that helped me to understand the end of this novel, which feels less like a conclusion and more like a chapter break. Because, essentially, it is […]
Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen
So this is the latest Jonathan Franzen novel, and what I can say about it is that it’s definitely a Jonathan Franzen novel. I think all of his novels are definitely Jonathan Franzen novel, but he’s one of those writers who generates a lot of preconceived notions (some fair; some not), but he’s been pretty consistent. I highly recommend that anyone who likes Jonathan Franzen, anyone who doesn’t like Jonathan Franzen but is willing to be have that idea challenged, and anyone who likes Jonathan […]
Purity by Jonathan Franzen
I don’t recall as much about Freedom as I do The Corrections, but this book, the up until soon most recent Jonathan Franzen indulges in some of Franzen’s best and worst habits. There’s whole sections of this book that read like the “Chip in Eastern Europe” section of the Corrections writ large. I mention that because I know several people who love that book and hate that part. One of my most discerning professors held that opinion. The story here is Great Expectations. Purity does […]
How to Be Alone by Jonathan Franzen
I think I went through a period where I decided that I would dislike Jonathan Franzen. He’s kind of a punching bag for a lot of people, and some of that is earned and some of that is unearned. I think in part people associate him with that list of writers who got their start in the 1980s, who are mostly white, mostly male, and range from elitist (by reputation) or l’enfants terribles. And for whatever reason, despite my being a generation younger than these […]
