Rating: 
Summary: Plodding
Review: I don't know why this book won any rewards. at best it is plodding and at its worse it is boring. It is almost impossible to care what happens to the characters in this book. I would not have purchased this book, if it hadn't been reccommended by Oprah Winfrey. Once I had purchased it, I realized that I had read Mr. Franzen's previous book and hated it evenmore than this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Understanding Franzen
Review: After reading quite a few of the reviews here on Amazon, I can see why Jonathan Franzen didn't want to be associated with the Cult of Oprah. "Negative", "depressing", "I didn't like the characters". What many of these readers can't seem to admit is that The Corrections is out of their depth. Maybe some illustrations were warranted, or maybe some readers should just stick with the abused-child-overcomes-obstacles-and-becomes-whole-and-healed (junk) that passes for the Oprah-ization of fiction.The Corrections is a difficult book, but then so is An Instance of the Fingerpost, This Side of Brightness, The Human Stain, and Underworld. But being difficult is not a sign of a bad book; it's the sign of a mature work of fiction that challenges the reader to see the world in a completely different way, to approach 'experience' from a different perspective. Are the characters unlikable? Sure. Do they seem real. Yes, they do, warts and all. Does it have a happy ending? Depends on how you see it. Should it have a happy ending? I don't know, ask Madame Bovary. The backlash against The Corrections is not against what lies between the covers, but the expectation that the readers bring to it. If you bought it because of Oprah, you'll probably be disappointed. I don't know if she should be commended for challenging her followers or condemned for trying to cash in on what is obviously one of the best pieces of fiction to come about in the last few years. The Corrections is raw and infuriating at times. At other times it is elegant and wiser than it should be. In the midst of all that, it's funny as hell, and I am glad that I read it and plan on reading it again at a later date to savor the pungent writing a bit more. A few years ago I had the opportunity to interview a "cult" author about his work and I asked him why his writing wasn't universally admired. I asked him if there was anything he should do differently. He replied that, in fiction, an author 'shouldn't' do anything that they didn't want to do. That art shouldn't have to be something specific to the viewer, or be anything it didn't set out to be. That the author presents, and the reader interprets. Each has their own duty, and if anything 'should' happen, it should be that each 'should' fulfill their part of the bargain. Buy the book if you think you can appreciate it. After that, the rest is up to you.
Rating:
Summary: total letdown
Review: I bought this book because Oprah loved it. I tried for 100 pages to get into it, to give it a chance but it is BORING. The characters are so draining. It is 100 % depressing!!!
Rating:
Summary: 5 stars for easy read!
Review: I loved this novel! It is entirely human, comical, sympathetic and the writing is so detailed and at times beautiful. It's a grand novel and he sustained my interest through the entire book. I wish I had written it.
Rating:
Summary: Oprah's" stamp of approval" totally misleading...
Review: As a voracious reader, I can unequivocably state that this book is one of the WORST books I have ever read. I find it hard to believe that Oprah(or staff) could have ever recommended this book if they had ever read it. What she has done is given an author who has written a boring and self-pontificating story get quite rich! The story line started with promise but the author's style of senseless rambling, boring rhetoric and unabashedly soapboxing became annoying early on. In all honesty,I couldnt even think of a person to pass this book on to; which in itself says alot. Oprah should be embarrassed to have put her stamp of approval on this book but more importantly, I should be furious at myself for having bought it!
Rating:
Summary: A WASTE OF TIME FOR MANY...I MUST ASSUME
Review: This books is creating responses from winning the Nat'l. Book Award to throwing it away in the dump; that is being extreme.
I must state I read more non-fiction than fiction, but am always eager for a good story. With the ballyhoo I have read about how wonderful "The Corrections" is I had to get it and started reading last night (11/14). I have read up to page 55. Normally I will not quit a book until I have read at least 100 pages to "give the story a chance," but after reading the critiques in Amazon, I will not waste my time further by trying the next 45 pages. This is a depressing, non-interesting story...and who needs that after Sept. 11th? I normally don't write reviews on a book I either dislike or read a few pages, but due to the accolades given THE CORRECTIONS I had to put in my two cents worth.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: Brilliant. I don't think this is an eternal classic (the theme--that it's impossible to stay "cool" very long--isn't quite universal enough), but it's a very, very satisfying book. Franzen is one of those authors who so cleverly paints places and people that the reader feels transported into another world. Dense with right-on details, many effective methaphors, resonant, poetic descriptions--this book reminds me of John Updike for several reasons. It captures the spririt of our times. It tears down the carefully erected facades of upper-middle-class strivers. Its stylistic power threatens at times to overwhelm the reader (but doesn't). It rests on a solid core of fully realized characters; effective suspense and drama; and great storytelling. Recall Curt Cobain's music: The surface is post-modern, a bit dissonant, somewhat jumpy (but underneath is a very effective traditional pop melody that ties everything together and relentlessly propels it forward).
Rating:
Summary: The postive press is a joke...right?
Review: I am an avid reader and was amazed at the reviews and exceptional comments about this book. I failed to find even one character to like and the disfunction that accompanies each is exhausting. After 400 pages I couldn't take it anymore! A real disappointed and waste of time.
Rating:
Summary: Ignore the bad reviews, they're just angry Oprah fans.
Review: Ever since Jonathan Franzen spoke out against his book being chosen as an Oprah Book Club Selection, his rating has dropped at an unbelievable rate. Wonder why??? I have been around and read many books in my life and I am 100% serious when I say that you can without a doubt ignore any review below two stars, because it probably came from an angry Oprah fan. This book is incredible!!! It has wonderful writing, the most in-depth characters I've ever had the pleasure to read about, very witty sarcasm, and incredible references to some very obscure but profound events in history. I apologize to anyone offended, but I think that this book was a bad selection for Oprah's club, because it is well beyond what her average viewer wants or understands. It deserved the National Book Award and should go down as one of the best books of the last ten years.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed
Review: I expected a comic satire on the American family and got just the opposite. This book is depressing from the beginning to the end. No one is happy with themselves or each other. They are cruel and selfish individuals. The only character that isn't totally selfcentered is the grandchild Jonah, and he too chooses in the end to do what is most pleasant for himself, rather than going to the grandmothers. I would not recommend this book to anyone.
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