[sericmarr]

Just returned from a Jonathan Franzen reading. Interesting. I have read only a few of his essays. Anyone read Corrections? Anyone have comments about his writing?

[Kevin Corbett]

I read "The Corrections". It's certainly worth checking out. His only major problem is that he tends to lack focus, and as a result you get a lot of characters who are only passing through the story, yet he still feels the need to try and develop them more than they deserve. Which has the effect of making him seem fairly long winded.

[W.F. Lantry]

Originally Posted by sericmarr

Anyone have comments about his writing?

Only in the sense that there's a giant controversy going on right now:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jason-..._b_693143.html

On the one hand, it's nice to know an author, any author, can still generate some hype. On the other hand, these women have much to say. I tend to agree with them. Interesting article in Slate about this as well: http://www.slate.com/id/2267158/

There's a pretty good interview with him on the NPR site.

Thanks,

Bill

[sericmarr]

He discussed the issue saying he generally agreed but didn't like being singled out to illustrate the issue. He also gracefully deferred to Oprah Winfry about being chosen for her book club since there was so much controversy with his other book when it was chosen.

Steve

[Simon Hunt]

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...)

[sericmarr]

Thanks for all of your comments. Anyone read the Time Magazine article? I haven't picked up an issue yet.

Steve

[Kevin Cutrer]

I just found this article on his prose style and thought it might interest some here.

[sericmarr]

Thanks for the link, Kevin. Here is a link to the Time Magazine article http://www.time.com/time/arts/articl...010000,00.html

[R. S. Gwynn]

I've just read [i]The Corrections[i], which has been sitting around for several years, and Freedom on my new Kindle. Both are hard to put down and vastly entertaining. They're both as much about cultural history as about characters and plot, but the latter are well handled. I want some Mexican A!

[Gail White]

I haven't read his books, but there's an article in the latest Atlantic lambasting "Freedom" from stem to stern. Very funny, and I imagine would amuse even a Franzen lover.