Freedom - Jonathan Franzen

Title: Freedom Author: Jonathan Franzen
Pages: 562

Rating ********8stars/**********10stars

Summary: (From inside flap) In his first novel since The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen has given us an epic of contemporary love and marriage. Freedom comically and tragically captures the temptations and burdens of liberty: the thrills of teenage lust, the shaken compromises of middle age, the wages of suburban sprawl, the heavy weight of empire. In charting the mistakes and joys of Freedom's characters as they struggle to learn how to live in an ever more confusing world, Franzen has produced indelible and deeply moving portrait of our time.

First sentence: The news about Walter Berglund wasn't picked up locally - he and Patty had moved away to Washington two years earlier and meant nothing to St Paul now - but the urban gentry of Remsey Hill were not so loyal to their city as not to read the New York Times.

Last Line: Mouse over--->To this day, free access to the preserve is granted only to birds and to residents of Canterbridge Estates, through a gate whose lock combination is known to them, underneath a small ceramic sign with a picture of the pretty young dark-skinned girl after whom the preserve is named.

Random Line: "Thats exactly right," Jenna's father said "Freedom is a pain in the ass."


Writing Style(including character development): Well written, straightforward and engaging. Franzen intricately writes each character to where you can open any chapter at random and know immediately whose point of view its from. The reader really comes to know each character. It should also be noted that Franzen writes very strong, believable female characters, which I feel is difficult for many male authors. Every character Franzen creates is three-dimensional. Franzen doesn't necessarily want you to like his characters but you are still intrigued by them and believe they could exist.

Storyline: Enticing, every plot and subplot has something going for it. A book that had me wide awake until 4am. I did feel, at times, that there were some unnecessarily vulgar scenes, especially in Joeys chapters, that might put people off because they seemed to come out of left field, and didn't seem to add anything to the story, but when you get past that small bump in the story, the rest was exceptional and intriguing and highly recommended.

Cover design/Aesthetic: The cover design was a little lacking, nothing exceptional.

Overall: With the exception of the unnecessary vulgarity, this book lived up to the hype. Franzen gives us outstanding character development and plot. This is another add to the favorites pile. While not pure gold like East Of Eden, the small personal nitpicks don't take too much away from the over-all enjoyability of the novel. That said, it may not be everyone's cup of tea. The characters are realistic and therefore make mistakes and aren't always likable. Much like life, it's not always clear who is the protagonist and who is the antagonist, and as soon as you think you have it figured out it may change. This was a high point of the book for me, I love when you get into the heads of all the characters and get the whole story, but reading other reviews it is apparent that this book is not for everyone. My advice though, is to give it a try and stick with it, it may grow on you.


xoxo, Jennifyr