Rating: 
Summary: Rambling, rambling, rambling . . .
Review: One of the key elements in writing is to write only that which advances the plot--everything else isn't necessary and simply wastes a reader's time and patience, not to mention a publisher's ink and paper. This novel often went off on tangents that had nothing to do with the main story, and would have done better with a 200+ page cut. I purchased this book because it was an Oprah pick, and then I found out that Franzen "' . . . didn't want that logo of corporate ownership on [his book]' referring to the 'O' on the cover that labeled it an Oprah pick." (Publisher's Weekly, Oct 29, 2001 pg. 14). I admire Oprah's Book Club and think it's wonderful how she's brought reading into so many lives, and usually I admire her choices--but not in this case. I'll wait for the next Oprah pick, and trust that it will be an improvement over this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Style over substance
Review: I thought I was going to like this for the first 100 pages or so (lots of very funny stuff, though in need of some editing), until Chip hooked up with the Lithuanian. Then it got more and more long-winded and generally depressing. I'm glad I read a library copy.
Rating: 
Summary: The Corrections needs some correcting
Review: This is not one of my favorites of Oprah's choices. The characters are interesting, although the focus tended to be on the characters I was least interested in. I found the book a little choppy and just as I was getting into a story (especially of the son and his wife), Franzen went elsewhere. I found the daughter's character a little inconsistent...I'm not sure how to explain that one...The parents were not delivered in enough depth to make me feel any empathy for them.
I kept turning the pages, and it was good, but there were gaps in the flow of the book.
Rating:
Summary: Depressing, stream-of-conciousness waste of time
Review: I was really looking forward to reading this book, even prior to the Oprah hoopla. I had read so many wonderful reviews. However, I found it drudgery from page 1. The "sly humor" mentioned in the literary reviews I found to be obvious and not really that funny. Perhaps I'm missing out on the so-called "brilliance" of his writing, but while I found the depth of the characters interesting, I couldn't help but feel that Franzen had simply taken his character outline and fattened it up for the novel. I found the character of Denise the most interesting, but it was definitely a portrait from a male perspective; and the "redemption" of Chip at the end seemed too contrived and easy. I do give Franzen credit for making me "feel" for these characters, though. They are a sad, depressing lot. I muddled through to the end, but never have I been so glad to finish a book! Don't believe the hype.
Rating: 
Summary: A Bit Pretentious, but an Excellent Try
Review: Much of what is said in the other reviews of this work is true. There is a great deal of somewhat simple-minded game-playing. There is an overweening self consciousness that occassionally intrudes into what is quite an excellent depcition of "the sins of the fathers." The dysfunctionality of the family has been called contrived and unbelievable; however, as Tolstoy points out, every unhappy family is unhappy in its own unique way.While I could have done with less of the pretention and game playing fewer sentences trying to suggest what parkinsonianism is about, less about the political climate of Lithuania, and less of the occasional overwritten verbal bombast (Particulary off-putting in the first couple of pages)--I still think the author has constructed a wonderful story and created characters that seemed very realistic to me. In fact, I was occassionally depressed to recognize some of these people among my own family and acquaintances. What Franzen's book ultimately did for me is make me ask the question, "How does my life look from the outside?" In that it provides a marvelous impetus for reflection and change. While Franzen seems dubious about that possibility, the novel has too short a duration in actual time to suggest whether or not the corrections will actually have a substantive effect on the characters. As I generally hate anything postmodern, I do give this two thumbs up--because if it was "post-modern" it was so in a way that was at least palatable and not inchoate.
Rating:
Summary: great read
Review: If you love great fiction (not exactly the GAN) then you will love this book.
Rating:
Summary: this is art?
Review: What was all the hype about? Women have been writing books about family dynamics for years (Edith Wharton, Jane Austen, Murasaki Shikibu's Tale of Genji, etc.) I think a man finally ventured into our realm and everyone got all excited. But too bad he had to tell it from such a manly, heartless point of view. None of the characters are likable. For a book to be enjoyable, we have to be able to sympathize with at least one character!?
Rating:
Summary: Undazzled by Franzen
Review: Contrary to popular reviews, I consider Franzen's The Corrections a mixture of self-conscious genious and showcasing. In particular, I found the parenthetical italicized Schopenhauer quotations didactic and demeaning.The way these quotes break into the text is like a flashing weather report moving across the bottom of a TV screen,leaving no mystery as to the meaning of a character's actions. One quote shows up on p. 280 to tell the reader what Al thinks as he overpowers Enid with his male member.(Schopenhauer: The people who make money are men,not women; and from this it follows that women are neither justified in having unconditional possession of it,nor fit persons to be entrusted with its administration.)(p 280)
In addition to didactic drop ins, Franzen overdoes the theme of corrections, guilt, and retribution. An example of this is the painful liver dinner scene. Al's son Gary has made a jail with an electric chair in it out of popsicle sticks. If the reader hasn't gotten this theme yet, she will after reading another Schopenhauer news release: "(If you want a safe compass to guide you through life...you cannot do better than accustom yourself to regard this world as a penitentiary, a sort of penal colony.)" Franzen continues with further direct references to imprisonment and corrections throughout the novel.
Recently author Michael Chabon, winner of the Pulitzer prize for literature, stated that the secret of good prose is that it appears effortless. Maybe young Franzen will learn this secret and relinquish more control to intelligent readers.
Rating:
Summary: Worst book ever
Review: As I muddle through this horrific novel, I am trying to figure out why Oprah would recommend this trash. The only reasons that I can think of are the references to the bored housewife...where Enid wants to develop her children's intellect, but all she has are piles of dirty laundry. The characters in this book are all unlikeable, self-centered and self-absorbed. The author goes on such pointless tangents that I feel he must be like his characters. At one time in the book, Enid looks at Al and realizes that he is a "bad, bad husband". Well, this is a "bad, bad" book.
Rating:
Summary: zany, profound, a beach book for all seasons
Review: Written with a brilliant command of language, stingingly intense characterization, dark humor, and most importantly with that shiny golden thread that tugs you through to the last page. Franzen explores the innermost lives of an American family, offering perhaps caricature,or maybe the secret world that lies behind too many closed doors dressed with Christmas wreaths.
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