Rating: 
Summary: amazing. so honest and real
Review: This book was wonderful. I couldn't put it down.
Rating: 
Summary: this book blows
Review: I've tried reading this book several times and just cannot get into it AT ALL. I typically love engaging stories written with real intellect, but Franzen just doesn't do it for me. I found myself not caring about the characters enough to read about them. I've given up and given the book away.
Rating: 
Summary: Reads Like The Brothers Karamazov
Review: This was excellent novel however I must that it reminded me of the Brothers Karamazov. I felt drawn to Chip and his "fall from grace" due to succumbing to the charms (more like annoyance) of Melissa a student of his during his other life as a college professor. Well he screwed that one up now didn't he! And throughout the novel the characters seem to have their dreams and illusions of life, never really focusing on reality. And there's the comparision between Chip and his more succesful brother who just happens to be manically depressed despite that success. I don't want to give away the whole book but it's really good read as far as a character study (almost like a case study). The reason I gave 4 stars instead of 5 was that reading through some dry spells in the novel took some patience other than that this novel comes highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: captivating read!
Review: had to write when i saw this book had only a three-star overall rating (?!?!?) this was one of the best books i've read in a long time. if you enjoy stories about people and their relationships with each other and their self-reflection i would be surprised if you do not like this book. i really was amazed by franzen's talent for vivid and detailed imagery in his description of thoughts and events and also by his interweaving of moments in the various characters lives. it touches on the internal struggles of each member of the family and their views of themselves and how the other members, either knowingly or unknowingly, contribute to their self-perception. through the characters, he also blends in his own social commentary (sometimes subtlely, sometimes not) which i usually find to be a perk in a book. i think franzen did a great job of writing from the very different perspectives and backgrounds of his characters, capturing both male *and* female characters well. for comparison, other writers that i have enjoyed as much are wally lamb (stories about people, their lives and internal struggles, and relationships with others), susan orlean (for stories about ordinary and thereby extraordinary people), tom robbins (social commentary, vivid imagery, and general off-the-wallness). i also generally like reading fiction or non-fiction about average everyday people. don't be thrown off by the oprah's book club designation... honestly, it took me awhile to bring myself to consider reading one -- hated the idea that i would in a way be jumping on someone else's bandwagon instead of thinking for myself, but this book and wally lamb were definitely worth it; good books are good books. though i still cringe when i see the emblem glaring at me on the cover :)
Rating: 
Summary: Bow down to Franzen's self-indulgence
Review: Oh, look at me, I'm Jonathan Franzen, and my novel covers all the tired postmodern themes that you would expect from a writer of my calibre. My social commentary is wondrous, not being able to introduce any meaningful insights into the nature of modern day consumer culture and the torments of anti-depressants, I instead wrote a synthesis of everything I'd come across in Don DeLillo's novels (specifically White Noise) thus showing that true originality can be got in this postmodern age by just patching together things one read in other more impressive postmodern literature. Now who else but me could write about a talking stool, come on, I'm a god, and you know it. Some advice for would be writers: just make fun of consumer culture in any way possible, throw in some feces and Prozac, and kazaam, you got a hit that might possible win the National Book Award. And also, make sure to attend an M.F.A writing program first, so that any creative impulse you might have had is wiped clean from your consciousness. Only then will you be a great postmodern writer like yours truly, the one, the only, Jonathan Franzen. Bow down baby, bow down!
Rating:
Summary: Pedantic...
Review: ...don't waste time or money on this one. It is the tale of a family of overeducated fools who victimize themselves making stupid mistakes in their lives.
Rating: 
Summary: Epic of a dysfunctional family
Review: The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen What can I say about this book, that everyone else hasn't said yet? Oprah's most famous book selection, which also caused the most controversy, THE CORRECTIONS is the book Jonathan Franzen will probably be most remembered by. Here's yet another huge epic-style book about a dysfunctional family that you just love to hate. The Lamberts are originally from a small town in the Midwest, St Jude, and are going through a crisis. Alfred, the patriarch of the family, is starting to show signs of dementia, and in the midst of all this, the rest of the family doesn't seem to be that sane either. Enid, his wife, doesn't seem to want to face the fact that he needs help. Chip, their middle child and youngest son is a failure. Gary, their oldest child, is having problems with his marriage and his kids, plus he thinks he's going insane. And Denise, the one that I think is the closest to being "normal", seems to fall into very terrible and bizarre relationships. The book is divided up into sections, with each section devoted to one person in the family. We start with Chip's problems with his job, his screenplay that will never get done, and his lack of money. (When he goes off to Lithuania, his story gets pretty interesting). Next section is devoted to Gary and his constant struggle with his wife and two of his kids. (His third child, Jonah, seems to be a saint). Then we move to Enid, where she is on a cruise with Alfred, and here her story is told: Enid, the ever-suffering wife, who has to deal with a puritanical husband who is as rigid as a board. From this point, I began to understand what was really going on with Alfred, and felt some sympathy for her. Next, we move to Denise's story, as we learn about her indiscretions with her father's employee, her pseudo-affair with another boss, and countless of other things she does to mess up her life. The book ends with "one last Christmas", where we finally see the entire family in one place at the same time. This last scene ties up all the loose ends, and if I hadn't finished this book, I don't think I could have honestly said this book was worth the effort. I bought the book because of the Oprah hype. But I waited to read this book, hesitating because of the hype. When I finally found my nerve to pick up this book, I was surprised to find how fast I was able to zip through it. Do not be intimidated by the size of the book and the tiny print. Although Franzen did not make this an easy book to read, for some reason I was able to read this book in less than two weeks (However, I stopped in the middle of the book and read another book in-between). His long rambling paragraphs and nearly run-on sentences made me want to fall asleep, but I continued on. I was rewarded with an excellent story of a dysfunctional family, and now I know what Franzen meant by "the corrections". I can't say I highly recommend this book, mainly because it is not a "fun" book to read, and I believe he could have made this shorter. But the reader will be rewarded by the time he reaches the last page of the book.
Rating:
Summary: An Engaging Read
Review: In this novel Franzen is concerned with the complex emotional lives of a 50s era American "nuclear" family. While telling the story of Enid's attempts to gather her three grown children together for one final Christmas in the midwestern town of St Jude, Franzen focusses on the subtle disfunctions and glaring neuroses of each member of the family. This book touches on issues such as the wide-ranging results of global investing, drug use, depression, child-rearing, international politics and sexual identity. An examination of the modern American psyche is attempted, positioning the "personal" with the "political" or social in a way that reminded me of Don DeLillo's "Underworld".
Delicate and convincing characterisation makes this novel both believable and moving, and Franzen's focus on the interior lives of the elderly Enid and Alfred make for representations of old-age life that are so brutally honest, while at once so dignified.
This is by no means a book of universal relevance. Rather it presents a thoroughly complex and engaging snapshot of life, most relevant to the American landscape in which it is set.
I certainly enjoyed this book, even those parts that, in their merciless excavation of emotion and intent, made me uncomfortable.
Rating:
Summary: American Family Woes
Review: If you're already cynical about the state of the American family, this is a good book to read. My cynical summary: Mean dad gets his in the end with terrible disease but family is so messed up they don't see the irony in it. They only see their own selfish lives. Long-suffering wife finally gets her wish... to run her own life. How sad.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing...Unbelievable...Incredible...
Review: Jonathan Franzen's latest novel is issue-fiction at its best. How he manages to take on perscription meds, ethnic fusion restaraunts, middle American suburban kitsch culture, and EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN without sacrificing characters or story boggles the mind. Without a doubt, some of the smartest literary fiction to be published in the last decade and since it is not an Oprah Book Club book, you can read it with a completely clear conscience.
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