Rating: 
Summary: You Will Love This Book . . . Or Hate It!
Review: Caution: This book is filled with vulgar and coarse words. If such offend you, avoid this book.The Corrections is either a five star, or a one star book for most people. . . depending on your perspective. I graded the book a three, because I had quite a lot of both reactions that I share below. In deciding whether or not you should read this book, ignore the book's award and the book's controversy, but do pay attention to the next two paragraphs. Here's who will hate it: Anyone who dislikes reading about unending emotional turmoil, depression, dementia, people messing up their lives, ugly family scenes, emotionally cold families, and the views of the well-educated, self-satisfied towards everyone else. Further groups who will be offended will include those who dislike extreme writing styles, slowly developing stories, and a strong sense of irony. Also, anyone from Lithuania or of Lithuanian ancestry will probably feel offended. Here's who will love it: Anyone who liked John Cheever's Wapshot Chronicle and Wapshot Scandal, but would also like to see more of the interaction among the family members; those who enjoy writing that takes characters to the edge and tests them thoroughly with temptation and challenge in order to let their actions describe their personalities; those who enjoy satirical treatment of foibles of the Greatest Generation and the Baby Boom; and those who would like to read about a family with more problems than their own has. The writing itself will interest people who like to see new forms of narration, and appreciate an ability to switch smoothly between stream of consciousness and straight narration. If you are in the latter category, read on. I found the book noteworthy for capturing the politics and manipulation within families in an extremely convincing and revealing way. This subject is normally a taboo in our society. The theme of corrections (whether in financial markets, in dealing with misbehavior, adjusting to new circumstances, or choosing the right path) is a good one for a novel about families, and I thought the theme was most imaginative and extremely well developed. If you are like me, be aware that the theme's full relevance will not start to hit you until the last 100 pages or so. The book's focus, to me, was on the limits of our self-perceptions. We have a self-image and a way of internalizing the world. Often, the self-image and way of internalizing the world poorly capture what is really going on. As a result, we can misunderstand our circumstances, what others think of us, what is being communicated to us, and even ourselves. Getting past any self-delusion is important to freely finding and taking the right choices for ourselves. As you laugh while you read this book, I suggest that you laugh a little at yourself . . . and learn in the process. The book's two best scenes are when Alfred comes home from an 11 hour day and runs into a little turbulence over dinner, and the scene in the ship's cabin when Alfred cannot wake Enid up. I wished that more of the writing had been this good. I look forward to reading more novels by Mr. Franzen in the future. Where should you be more open to alternatives? What are others trying to tell you?
Rating: 
Summary: Tedious at best!
Review: After reading the NY Times Book Review and seeing an interview on television with the author, I couldn't wait to buy this book. I can't remember the last time I was as let down by a novel as I was by this one. I eagerly read and read, waiting for the story line or the characters to become more interesting, and finally a friend told me not to bother. I just couldn't get through it.
Oprah, what were you thinking ?
Rating: 
Summary: steer clear of sharp objects!
Review: Like all the other Oprah books I've read, this one is very well written, very depressing and very likely to find you sawing away at your wrists with a dull butter-knife to dull the pain. The Corrections, like most Oprah books, is like a long, windy road to the edge of a cliff -where one is tempted to jump rather than subject his or herself to the Prozac-starved lives of the characters in the book. Now having said all this, I did really come to like the characters in the book and to really feel for them in the end -which is I guess the making of a good book. All in all, by the end of the book I was glad to have read it and to now be able to take part in all the hoopla surrounding it.
Rating:
Summary: Faulkner First
Review: If you want to read about dysfunctional families, stick with Faulkner, he's got it down pat. This novel didn't pass the first sentence test for me; Absalom! Absalom! does...
Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant!
Review: THE CORRECTIONS is a sprawling family saga that is very often laugh out loud funny, and ultimately deeply affecting and poignant.
Franzen is a master of the art of storytelling and his deft blend of wry humor along with his accurate portrayals of family, make this book hugely enjoyable.
So, never mind all the pre-publishing hype this book has received, and Franzen's rejection of Oprah Winfrey's endorsement. This is quite possibly the best book I've read this year and deserving of the hype and the National Book Award.
Rating:
Summary: Dear Jonathan Franzen please visit Lithuania
Review: I hate people, who lie. I'm sure that Jonathan Franzen doesn't know where Lithuania is. And how he dares to write about my country such lies. I am a citizen of Lithuania and I live in Vilnius. You should know that in whole Lithuania live less criminals than in one big city of USA. People in Lithuania live not so good as in the USA, but they don't starve and we really don't need to eat horse meat :) One more thing about coal, in Vilnius coal isn't used for heating houses or flats. We use electricity and central heating :)
Post-sovietic-country it's humiliatating for us. You think that Lithuania became independet because USSR fell down? I saw with own eyes how armless lithuanians stood in front of soviet soldiers and lithuanians stood for our freedom.
Earlier and now Vilnius is a very beautiful city. Of course Vilnius is not so big as New York, but in Vilnius you can find wonderful Oldtown, one of the oldest Universities in the Eastern Europe, beautiful rivers and friendly people.
How many americans know, that we have our own lithuanian language. This language is one of the oldest in the whole world. Many lithuanians know one or two foreign languages. So, please don't believe words what were about Lithuania in this book of J.Franzen.
Rating:
Summary: Disfunction at its best
Review: This book was the ultimate in disfunction! I was completely depressed from the constantly moving fog of depression that clouded each family member every day. The writing is done well enough, but it is a story over-reaching in its climb down into the depths of complex sordid detailed disfunction.
Rating: 
Summary: Quit after about 100 pages.......
Review: I found many parts of this book interesting and bold. But it wore me out! I got this book shortly after 9/11/01 and simply found it required way too much concentration that I don't have right now. Maybe I could swallow this one better if I had huge chunks of free time and the quieter state of mind this book would require from me. I find paragraphs that are a page long (and there are many) simply too dense for my taste on a good day. Mr. Franzen, less is more.
Rating:
Summary: Pessimistic fun
Review: In spite of being only halfway through this book I want to add my "I love it" to this site. The complex intertwined story of Enid and Alfred , their three children and their grandchildren is sure to become a classic in American literature. Midwesterners may not like it though (read it to find out why). Eternal optimists may not like it either. You would not expect a story about flawless, perpetually happy human beings from a writer who likes to quote Schopenhauer. The actors in this novel come through as real people with whom one can identify. The dialog involving persons from the three generations is hilarious. If you are tired of watching today's TV news, which can make you become a real pessimist, get this book for the holidays and spend some time having a little pessimistic fun instead.
Rating:
Summary: Great insight into the Human Condition.
Review: I disagree with the many negative reviews here. I found this book to be an absorbing read. The characters are all complex, recognizable human beings. Although within the family unit some characters, such as oldest son Gary, are extremely unsympathetic,I found myself empathizing with each of them in their particular sections. This book is large and messy and glorious.
I believe many of the negative reviews are reactions to the considerable hype this book has received, as well as some (women) who are annoyed that he doesn't bow down to the shrine of Oprah. I must admit the Oprah selection put me off, but I got past my prejudice and found this to be one of the best books I've read in years.
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