I don't know a lot about Franzen, but I did read Corrections (twice). I found it fabulously readable and very cleverly plotted, but ultimately it left me a bit frustrated with what I took as a snarky judgmental quality. I felt he wanted me to laugh unkindly at the characters I liked best. To some degree, this may have been influenced by my irritation over Franzen's handling of the book's selection for the Oprah book club, which struck me as snobbery.
I read the book again last year to give it a second chance after learning that an old acquaintance of mine was/is Franzen's partner/girlfriend/spouse equivalent/?. Same reaction.
I hear good things about the new book, but I don't imagine I'll read it any time soon (still planning to read all of Dickens in order first...)
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