Franzen's The Corrections is a worthy late read
Published September 13, 2003
Child Two: Chip wants to put as much space as possible, both literally and in regard to his interests, between himself and the first three members of the family. After his mediocre career in academia collapses as the result of naivete and stupidity, he latches onto an offer to become the American member of a scheme to use the Internet to defraud American investors in an East European country. It has been in turmoil since the collapse of the Soviet Union, a turmoil that is a macrocosmic image of Chip's mental state. The quixotic adventure becomes the first step that will land this Peter Pan on a path that, surprisingly, recasts him as a responsible person by the time he turns 40.
Child Three: Along with her parents and elder brother, Denise prides herself on being a bedrock, mid-Western American, not involved in any of the excesses associated with either Coast. Ironically, her life style completely contradicts those beliefs.
The mechanism Franzen uses to make these characters strong enough to support a 500-plus page novel is humor. He is a master when it comes to seeing the often funny contrast between perception and reality. For example, the best part of Enid's marriage occurs after her husband is too senile to resist her. She is able to hold all the conversations he would have walked out on with him while his mind is lost in fog. That, really, is the main thing she wanted all those years. Meanwhile, Alfred has as interesting interactions with talking turds and imagined cellmates as he ever did with his family or co-workers.
The title, The Corrections, refers to changes in economic cycles. It could be said of those cycles that the more things change, the more they remain the same. The Lambert family reminds us that with people, that is more often true than not, as well.
Note 1: There is a thorough discussion of the Oprah's Book Club controversy at the online book review site The Complete Review.
Note 2: My blog is Mac-a-ro-nies.
- Franzen's The Corrections is a worthy late read
- Published: September 13, 2003
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- Filed Under: Books: Literature and Fiction
- Writer: Mac Diva
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I haven't seen it mentioned in reviews, but Franzen reminded me of John Dos Passos with this particular book. He draws material from many different aspects of life, including gourmet cooking and modern railroad history, and weaves it together seamlessly.
Some people in the blogosphere are not pleased that I am not a fan of what often passes for thought in contemporary America, including here in Bloggersville. Too often it is pablum. Balderdash. Piffle. This novel and several others I've reviewed, along with Derrick Bell's contributions to legal theory, discussed in other entries, are examples of good minds at work.
I'm curious what his new book is like. He's been to Berlin, reading from it, but unfortunately I had another appointment and couldn't make it. What a shame:( Are there any reviews on the new novel yet? Anywhere?
No, not of a new novel. However, Franzen's collection of essays fell fast and has already gone to remainder bins. You can score it for $6.99 at Amazon. The comparative failure may be because the material was old and recycled to take advantage of the hype from The Corrections. The man probably has better prose in him.
Naahhh, I think I'll stick to "The Twenty-Seventh City". I don't like the short form (whether it's essays or stories) too much, don't know why.
Ah, funny you should say that because I began reading that collection of essays on New Year's day and plan to write a review of it in a few weeks. I agree it's not nearly as good as his fiction but it's still quite good.
Correction and 27th City are great books.
And it's worth noting - and I'll probably stress this in my review - that he argues that the idea
we have less privacy these days is a myth.
Think back to the days when there was one general store the whole town uses and a visit there led to a conversation which soon the whole town would know about. Down on your luck and buying some beer?The whole town knew. Up on your luck - so to speak - and needing birth control - that would be common knowledge too.
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I loved that books. It's far from an easy read, but absolutely worth the time. And it even featured the pub where I liked to eat when I lived in Vilnius;-) What coincidence.