Freedom by Jonathan Franzen

Wow, wow, wow. What a great book. I loved it, from the moment it began to the moment it ended. I struggled between wanting to gulp the story down in great big hunks and wanting to revel in this writer’s wonderful language. I loved the structure, as the story is told from several points of view, each of which overlaps a little with another and contributes to the wonderful depth of character that he creates. I loved the characters who weren’t goody goody people, who were often not particularly likeable but not awful, just real – and sometimes turned out to be better than you thought was going to be possible. I loved the way Franzen sticks it up political correctness and not-so-correctness, the behaviour of powerful people in the USA (and beyond probably), the mindlessness of the masses, the selfishness of people – all that. I loved The Corrections and I think this one is even better, or at least as good. 5 stars.