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.

The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen

This is the second time I’ve read this book (getting ready to read his new book just launched) and it is one of the most powerful portraits of dysfunctional modern family life that anyone has ever written I think. Alfred, the father and emotionally brutal patriarch, is suffering from Parkinsons, and his wife Enid is not so valiantly trying to manage his condition. But, as the name of the novel suggests, his illness becomes the catalyst for all kinds of emotional corrections to take place amongst the family members – Chip the ne’er do well son, Gary the materialist, Denise the successful chef and of course Enid herself. The novel is rich in emotional detail and I’m sure everyone who reads it is going to recognise some uncomfortable personality or experience from their own lives. It homes in on people and their personalities with all the accuracy of a heat seeking missile. It’s uncomfortable, it’s funny, it’s shocking – it’s brilliant. 5 stars.