The Corrections: A Novel
#1 NEW YORK TIMES Bestseller * NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER *A NEW YORK TIMES BEST BOOK OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY: TOP TEN
"A spellbinding novel" (People) from the New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Franzen, the author of Crossroads, The Corrections is a comic, tragic epic of worlds colliding: an old-fashioned world of civic virtue and sexual inhibitions, a new world of home surveillance, hands-off parenting, do-it-yourself mental health care, and globalized greed. After almost fifty years as a wife and mother, Enid Lambert is ready to have some fun. Unfortunately, her husband, Alfred, is losing his sanity to Parkinson's disease, and their children have long since flown the family nest to the catastrophes of their own lives. The oldest, Gary, a once-stable portfolio manager and family man, is trying to convince his wife and himself that, despite certain alarming indicators, he is not clinically depressed. The middle child, Chip, has lost his seemingly secure academic job and is failing spectacularly at his new line of work. And Denise, the youngest, has escaped a disastrous marriage only to pour her youth and beauty down the drain of an affair with a married man--or so her mother fears. Desperate for some pleasure to look forward to, Enid has set her heart on an elusive goal: bringing her family together for one last Christmas at home.BUY THE BOOK
Community Reviews
Yes, I know this family and many of its variations. The writing was good, and he did a good job inventing this vaguely unhappy family.
In a sentence, this book felt like watching the slow suffocating misery of first world problems play out in front of you. That is the dispassionate spectator in me not finding a connection in the characters in this book that made me care for their issues. That summation sits in stark contrast to the pull of Franzen’s books for me. Franzen’s greatest skill is being able to illustrate through various scenarios what it looks like when expectations coming crashing into the steel reinforced brick wall of reality.
Franzen is a master at capturing the unspoken grey area of what it means to exist. He creates characters whose struggles you understand but struggle to feel sorry for. Each of his novels could represent the Great American Novel in that they pop the balloon on the idea of the Great American Dream. Specifically, in how all the endless work and riches don’t satisfy the most basic human needs and desires. Moreover, in what goes unsaid by the characters, oceans of dissatisfaction fill the emptiness.
I enjoyed “Freedom” so much more. Where I could not put that one down, I was ready for “The Corrections” to end at barely a hundred pages in. That said, I can see why it was such a draw for many. Well written and layered with pages of drama, subtext, through lines, and complexity to keep the most experienced reader engaged. Franzen’s novels have real meat on their bones that stick with you long after you’ve put them down. Even if some characters and sections don’t quite fit your palate.
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