BLURB..........
An international bestseller and the novel of the
year, ‘Freedom’ is an epic of contemporary love and marriage.
This is the story of the Berglunds, their son Joey,
their daughter Jessica and their friend Richard Katz. It is about how we use
and abuse our freedom; about the beginning and ending of love; teenage lust;
the unexpectedness of adult life; why we compete with our friends; how we
betray those closest to us; and why things almost never work out as they
‘should’. It is a story about the human heart, and what it leads us to do to
ourselves and each other.
I have avoided reading this book for a year or so, somewhat
put off by the size of the volume, some 600-odd pages in length........not as
long as some books on the TBR pile........ Robert Littell’s The Company awaits
further down the line at 900’ish! I just prefer reading shorter, sharper books.
The book follows Patty and Walter Berglund, though mainly
Patty through high school and college into middle age, traversing friendships,
romance, marriage and parenthood and the inter-action of the older Berglunds
with their neighbours, children, best (or worst) friend Richard and extended
families. Franzen dissects and documents the mundane and everyday occurrences as
well as those out of the ordinary. The devil is in the detail and Franzen
skilfully and sometimes humorously examines the hurts and pain each one of them
feels and imparts on to the others.
Franzen could be commentating on anyone of us, or all of us.
There’s nothing particularly special or worthy about the Berglunds, that sets
them apart from the rest of us trying to negotiate a way through life. I
suppose that was a big part of the novel’s
enjoyment for me.
To be perfectly honest though, I didn’t really warm to Patty
Berglund and as a result didn’t connect with her pain, her traumas and her life
issues, though I didn’t find myself despising her at any point either.
Best bit of the book, Walter and his speech-giving, a proper
laugh out loud comedy moment for me.
I haven’t read Franzen before, but being the greedy, avaricious
accumulator that I am, I have The Corrections and The Twenty-Seventh City on
pile TBR. I’ll read them some time in the next 20-years, but won’t be rushing
to acquire his next tome.
In my opinion, John Irving does it better, probably with a
touch more of the absurd but he’s made me care more for his characters
particularly in “Garp” and “Owen Meany.”
Some commentators have described this as the “novel of the
year,” NO WAY!
Good, maybe a 3 plus out of 5, okay 4 then, but I wouldn’t
even class it as the best book I’ve read this month.
My copy was acquired second-hand from one of the local
charity shops in sunny Leighton Buzzard – a bargain at 50p!
Interesting review Col. I don't think you are ever supposed to completely like Franzen's characters. I found this particularly the case in 'The Corrections' but also here.
ReplyDeleteGlad that the charity shops are providing you with reading matter!
Sarah, I'll get to The Corrections at some point no doubt. It will probably give me a better perspective on Franzen's character portrayal,
ReplyDeleteLong live charity shops!