Rating: 
Summary: Tell me again why he turned Oprah down...
Review: I picked up the book minutes before Oprah did, and happened to read Franzen's comments regarding his rejection of her, and I thought they were good enough for me to give the book a shot. He thought it had enduring potential. Also, at a reading Jane Hamilton gave, she said she loved it. Here's what I thought: Jonathan Franzen is really smart, pretty funny, can put a great sentence together, and it's a great psychological study of people. But I felt the book had no soul, and I'll be quite surprised if it endures.
Rating:
Summary: Skillful but ultimately empty book,
Review: Franzen is a very talented writer, but in the end, I could not find any empathy with any of his characters. He trys to "show off" his broad areas of knowledge (food,economics,etc)to the detriment of finding something to care about in the lives of his characters as they slowly, but surely unravel. Frazen must lead a very depressing life, if he is hanging out with the self-defeating and perverse people he writes about! Also, I found that his characterization of the females in the book to be much more crtical and stinging than the males! Good for Oprah for "disinviting" him. I fear he finds himself more impressive than I did!
Rating: 
Summary: An ambitious portrait of a dysfunctional family
Review: Jonathan Franzen clearly set out to write a great work of literature. The Corrections is ambitious to say the least - at times brilliant, full of insight into the nature of the dysfunctional family, and keenly aware of the idiosyncrasies of modern-day society. The Lamberts are in many ways a typical American family, seemingly normal on the outside and lovingly pathological on the inside. Alfred, rapidly succumbing to Parkinson's disease, stubbornly persists in his daily routines despite an increasingly obvious inability to perform basic tasks and control his bodily functions. Enid, his wife, lives in a perpetual state of denial, refusing to admit her failings as a mother and a spouse. And their three children pursue their lives with, at times, reckless abandon and disregard for the pitfalls that lie ahead. The Corrections, at its heart, is a story of learning from your mistakes and from life's experiences. It is also a sharp, biting portrayal of early twenty-first century American culture, complete with its miracle drugs, stock market trends, and Eastern-European instability.Franzen develops an elaborate plot that follows each of the five main characters through the ordinary, and at times extraordinary challenges of their everyday lives. Denise, the youngest child, is perennially involved with married men and a workaholic chef at a trendy Philadelphia restaurant. Chip, the middle child, has lost his tenure-track teaching position because of an affair with one of his students, and is now pursuing a quasi-legal, highly lucrative venture in Lithuania. Gary, the oldest, and seemingly most stable of the three children, is gradually sinking into a rut of depression and frustration with his ornery wife. As they each pursue their individual lives, Enid aggressively pursues her hope of having one last family Christmas in St. Jude, the archetypal Midwest city of old-fashioned values. The Corrections is a portrayal of the sometimes deliberate, sometimes random process of growing as a human being. Each character in his or her own way is flawed, and yet each is propelled by an inherent yearning to get things right. Franzen creates intelligent, immensely human characters whose triumphs come more often than not in baby steps. And while he creates a novel that is, at its core, character-driven, he eloquently juxtaposes traditional Midwestern values of Enid's and Alfred's generation against the rapidly-changing world of their children. Only time will tell whether The Corrections becomes a classic period piece of the early twenty-first century, but regardless, it is justly praised for its rich characters and big-hearted plot.
Rating: 
Summary: If you read nothing else, read this
Review: Oh, the lives we lead! Told with empathy and truth in this modern classic. I could barely put in down, and when I did, I cried for an hour, for all those things we are that cannot be said, for all the things our lives are and aren't. Oddly prescient, it foretells what we now know was the end of the 90s, the end of arrogance and giddy innocence, in a ubiquitous euphemism, a "correction."
Rating: 
Summary: (3.5)Difficult read, mostly worth the effort
Review: In some ways THE CORRECTIONS reminds me of BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES, Tom Wolfe's stunning accomplishment, although clearly not as intricately layered. BONFIRE was a great achievement, but didn't translate to the screen at all, which is just as well. A book should be appreciated for its inherent value, not the visual effects a film may produce. THE CORRECTIONS, while beautifully structured, has the cynicism but not the sophistication of BONFIRE. The author is extremely talented, awesomely so, if jaundiced in his view of nuclear family life and its extensions. That none of the characters are even remotely likeable is part of its charm, the genre even. There was another novel a few years ago THE TURN OF THE CENTURY by Kurt Anderson that seems close to this one, although certainly not superior. I liked those characters even less than those in THE CORRECTIONS. But TURN OF THE CENTURY also had the formula going for it: self-concerned people in pursuit of success/happiness/anything and lots of interesting lifestyle trivia along the way, as well as fascinating ambient information. Finally, we know so much about each character, they are so flawed as to remind us of ourselves, in that we all have hidden parts that do not bear revelation to the light of day. So everyone says, "Really fabulous writing", meaning, "I'd never have the guts to put that on paper!" The only ones we ever know that well are ourselves, and nobody's telling that ugly stuff. In a way, Franzen is competing in a genre where few authors have been successful. He is one of the successes, without doubt. This book is well worth the effort, if, for nothing else, the information about Parkinson's Disease, as it affects the family as well as the victim. Franzen's novel is rich with the meat of humanity in all it's familial disguises.
Rating: 
Summary: Not worth my time
Review: This book was chosen for our book club discussion. Since I am a fan of historical fiction, I was a little reluctant to start it. However, I will give every book a chance. Well, I started it, read 1/4 of it, and feel I have wasted my time. The characters are somewhat bizarre and I just can't get into it. When I read a book, I want to be a part of it. I want to learn something and feel inspired. This book, so far, has achieved none of that. I need to put it down, or give it away.
Rating:
Summary: Local Mannerisms, Universal Appeal
Review: "If it's so popular, there can be little intelligence in the book." "Oprah's pick, huh? You know what to expect." "The reviews are calling it wondrously devastating, unflinchingly honest, indelibly beautiful, agreeably accessible, etc. I'd better make myself 'immensely inaccessible' to the book." Thoughts like these, that often become a deterrent for many readers, couldn't (thankfully) deter me. Then there was the publicity blitzkrieg, the kind that often leaves a sour taste in the mouth. Being far away from the US, I escaped that too (thankfully again). Ignorance was bliss, for once. Unspoiled by dictated expectations, I picked up Corrections. That was quite the correct thing to do, I was to discover later. Corrections is the story of Alfred and Enid Lambert, a couple rooted in a fictional Midwestern suburb. Corrections is the tale of Al and Enid's three grown-up children who are looking for their pot of gold in various places (New York, Philadelphia and Lithuania!). Corrections is the story of Al and Enid's grandchildren. When you start reading an author who delves in and out of the minds of three generations of characters with rabbitlike swiftness, you cannot but sit up and take notice. And take notice you will, whether you end up loving or hating Franzen. JF spins a story that has all the ingredients of a pulp claptrap. And it's so easy to fall into that trap of highbrowdom. I would urge the reader to look beyond the mere descriptions. Scratch a little and you'll find a keen understanding of the human psyche, as it manifests in all shades of the psychological spectrum. To package that understanding in a hilarious, humorous, poignant, and touching story is no mean feat. Corrections has been described as a sarcastic look at the American way of life. True, Franzen uses (arguably) typical American mannerisms to paint his story. But that, I daresay, is just the means. Peel off the veneer and you're left with emotions that are truly universal. Substitute the Americanism in the novel with Britishism, Orientalism, or any other ism you fancy, Corrections would still be as enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: Average. Maybe I missed something.
Review: Well, I read this book in 2 days but when I was finished with it, I wondered what was so good about it. I have to hand it to Franzen, though - I've never in my life seen such long sentences. There's a record length sentence on page 11. I have seen this book compared to American Beauty. I saw that movie and didn't see what was so good about that, either. Maybe I just prefer a PLOT!
Rating:
Summary: Good read, but not the best....
Review: Franzen's delivers a good story but the characters are too outrageous. And too long and overdrawn. So THE CORRECTIONS is the best book of 2001? No way. I still vote for THE CARPET FROGS:MUSIC AFTER TOMORROW by Alan Arlt.
Rating:
Summary: The Male Danielle Steele
Review: I think Franzen has a lot of good ideas about family relationships/issues, but he should steer clear of writing about sexual concepts.
|
