Opening up "Freedom" by Jonathan Franzen was like opening up a Christmas present.
The novel has stirred up so much attention and excitement that I paused my current "must read" list and started right in on the book that has everybody talking.
I usually read a book in fifty page increments, and I have to say, the first fifty pages of "Freedom" is so good and full that you close the book and wonder--"What the hell else can he possibly have to say?"
That's when you realize you're in for one hell of a ride.
The first part of the book "Good Neighbors" reads like a novella.
The reader starts out thinking "Okay, I know what this book is about. I know exactly what's going to happen. It's going to be a half-ton book with limited plot and lots of pretentious thought and ruminating."
And oooohhhhh are you wrong.
"Good Neighbors" ends well before page 50, and by that point, you've soaked up over a decade in the lives of Patty Berglund and her family.
That's when you enter Patty's autobiography.
Again, you're doubting Franzen. You're thinking--This is a bad mood. I was just engrossed in the plot, and now you're pulling a post-modern maneuver and sending me back in time to learn about the protagonist. Bad move.
And again, you're wrong.
Patty's story goes well past page 50, but by then, I was shaking my head with sheer devastation and amazement.
The depth Franzen brings to a character--at a point in the novel when you mistakenly believe you already have her figured out--is astounding.
I've never seen an author so clearly establish a foundation for a character, not to mention let you know where the character is going to wind up.
(Okay, maybe Darth Vader, but that's it.)
I couldn't wait to get back to the book today.
It's a little odd to call a book this well-written a page-turner, but trust me--
It is.
The novel has stirred up so much attention and excitement that I paused my current "must read" list and started right in on the book that has everybody talking.
I usually read a book in fifty page increments, and I have to say, the first fifty pages of "Freedom" is so good and full that you close the book and wonder--"What the hell else can he possibly have to say?"
That's when you realize you're in for one hell of a ride.
The first part of the book "Good Neighbors" reads like a novella.
The reader starts out thinking "Okay, I know what this book is about. I know exactly what's going to happen. It's going to be a half-ton book with limited plot and lots of pretentious thought and ruminating."
And oooohhhhh are you wrong.
"Good Neighbors" ends well before page 50, and by that point, you've soaked up over a decade in the lives of Patty Berglund and her family.
That's when you enter Patty's autobiography.
Again, you're doubting Franzen. You're thinking--This is a bad mood. I was just engrossed in the plot, and now you're pulling a post-modern maneuver and sending me back in time to learn about the protagonist. Bad move.
And again, you're wrong.
Patty's story goes well past page 50, but by then, I was shaking my head with sheer devastation and amazement.
The depth Franzen brings to a character--at a point in the novel when you mistakenly believe you already have her figured out--is astounding.
I've never seen an author so clearly establish a foundation for a character, not to mention let you know where the character is going to wind up.
(Okay, maybe Darth Vader, but that's it.)
I couldn't wait to get back to the book today.
It's a little odd to call a book this well-written a page-turner, but trust me--
It is.
Comments
Post a Comment