Jonathan Franzen
Hardcover | Pages: 562 pages Rating: 3.75 | 146335 Users | 13579 Reviews
Particularize Books Supposing Freedom
| Original Title: | Freedom |
| ISBN: | 0374158460 (ISBN13: 9780374158460) |
| Edition Language: | English URL http://us.macmillan.com/freedom/JonathanFranzen |
| Characters: | Walter Berglund, Patty Berglund, Joey Berglund, Jessica Berglund, Richard Katz |
| Literary Awards: | Warwick Prize for Writing Nominee for Longlist (2013), Los Angeles Times Book Prize Nominee for Fiction (2010), Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize for Fiction (2011), National Book Critics Circle Award Nominee for Fiction (2010), Bad Sex in Fiction Award Nominee (2010) John Gardner Book Award for Fiction (2011), Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Favorite Book and for Fiction (2010) |
Interpretation To Books Freedom
Patty and Walter Berglund were the new pioneers of old St. Paul—the gentrifiers, the hands-on parents, the avant-garde of the Whole Foods generation. Patty was the ideal sort of neighbor, who could tell you where to recycle your batteries and how to get the local cops to actually do their job. She was an enviably perfect mother and the wife of Walter's dreams. Together with Walter—environmental lawyer, commuter cyclist, total family man—she was doing her small part to build a better world.But now, in the new millennium, the Berglunds have become a mystery. Why has their teenage son moved in with the aggressively Republican family next door? Why has Walter taken a job working with Big Coal? What exactly is Richard Katz—outré rocker and Walter's college best friend and rival—still doing in the picture? Most of all, what has happened to Patty? Why has the bright star of Barrier Street become "a very different kind of neighbor," an implacable Fury coming unhinged before the street's attentive eyes?
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 an indelible and deeply moving portrait of our time.
(jacket)
Identify Of Books Freedom
| Title | : | Freedom |
| Author | : | Jonathan Franzen |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 562 pages |
| Published | : | August 31st 2010 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (first published August 2010) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Contemporary. Novels. Literary Fiction |
Rating Of Books Freedom
Ratings: 3.75 From 146335 Users | 13579 ReviewsWrite Up Of Books Freedom
A friend of mine loaned me this book via Nook's "Lend Me" option which is both gay and retarded. I didn't realize at the time (neither of us did) that the book is only on loan for 14 days and can only be loaned once. So what happened was, I didn't finish. I had about 150 pages left when I got a very rude alert telling me, essentially, to have a good day. Anyway, the ending that I did not read and have no idea about may have compelled me to give this one three stars, but as I have no desire toOkay, so earlier this summer I was waiting to see The National play Prospect Park ("Of course you were, Jessica...." -- but bear with me, that's my point), and I sent a text message to the guy who'd given me the tickets, thanking him again and observing that "White People don't LIKE seeing The National play Prospect Park; White People LOVE seeing The National play Prospect Park." This was a reference, of course, to the oft-quoted blog that holds a very high place on the seemingly endless list it
It seems ironically bold yet appropriate for a contemporary novelist to explore relevant American social issues through the artistic lens of undiluted realism. Within the context of a dying book industry, one desperately trying to convince consumers that fiction is still an appealing, worthwhile commodity to invest their time and money in, its often better to play it safe and tug on heartstrings and connect, than to fuss around with experimentation in the interest of moving things forward. And
Times I hear, You either love him or hate him, I often both love him and hate him. In feeling lukewarm, theres a distinction to be made in how you got there. To find every aspect average is not the same as combining extreme likes and dislikes that tally to the same net amount. Id rather feel strongly both ways. So heres my highly variable assessment of Franzen and his latest.On the like side of the ledger, I have to give him his due for being one helluva good writer. His sentences flow, his
I read Freedom the week before Christmas. What was I thinking? Did I want a bleak, almost sullen, portrayal of America in the new century? And not a complete one, either, but limited to privileged white people? Why didnt I just sit on the couch, get drunk, and watch Salt and Easy A? Ok, I did that, too, but my kids were off of school and apparently believe they should get to watch television as well, so I went upstairs and read away a few afternoons. Stupid Freedom. Mr. Franzen, youre good. Most
Mrs. Flick has been wholeheartedly pushing this book on Liana & I. &... finally I got my paws on it, and the verdict is this: medium-well. If this were a cut of meat, it would be messy, ugly, but tasteful: there would be much blackness on the outside (Franzen is quite the oxymoron: hes incredibly vivid in his very opaqueness: there are four members of the Berglund family and only three get to have their stories unfold: the elusive daughter is not worthy, apparently, of a narrative space)
UPDATED.To keep in style of the book this review will be just a lot of rambling. I mean, it was mostly a soap opera. And I just dont do soap operas. I can just about manage about 10 minutes every 5th episode, but thats about it. And Franzen submitted me to 570 bloody pages of a soap opera which I had to digest in a few sittings. Like in all soap operas, everything ends well and love conquers all, of course some characters might have to be killed off along the way, but it seems like a small price
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