Freedom, Jonathan Franzen (3.5)
Firstly, I was looking forward to this book since Mr. Franzen openly said he did not want Oprah’s endorsement (applause for author’s assumed integrity). He did end up capitulating and apologizing for his hubris, too bad he couldn’t stand up to the Big O. Secondly, I read the New York Times book review – or should say I read the first paragraph several times trying to understand what the book was actually about! I gave up, but decided to read the book if it crossed my path, which it did, thanks to Sarah. Unfortunately, that all being said, I’m conflicted about my feelings for this book. It’s a story that follows a family through about 20 years. It’s told from the point of view of several of the main characters (family and friends). There is plenty of love, hate, politics and business to keep you interested. And while it definitely held my interest, I found it to be quite sad. I guess reading about a bunch of good things happening to people is not as interesting as watching them trudge through adversity. I won’t give it a (4) as I reserve that for books I want to re-read, but the writing was good and the story was compelling. I can understand why it has gotten good press, though I did not entirely ‘enjoy’ it. Now I understand the issue with the NYT review!
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