Freedom, by Jonathan Franzen
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This book has been praised to death, but add my voice to the din. Here's all you really need to know: At one point, Franzen writes that a certain character had to "wait for all the faits to be accomplis." Now imagine that there is a turn of phrase like that in nearly paragraph. Now imagine that this is done not merely to be clever but in service of a beautifully structured novel. Add in deftly handled symbolism throughout. Original character voices. Cultural insights. And MEANING---really weighty, important meaning and themes. That's why we're all drooling, and why its hundreds of pages fly by like a dozen. I hope we don't have to wait another 9 years for the next Franzen novel. Or maybe it's okay if we do, if it brings another novel like this.
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This book has been praised to death, but add my voice to the din. Here's all you really need to know: At one point, Franzen writes that a certain character had to "wait for all the faits to be accomplis." Now imagine that there is a turn of phrase like that in nearly paragraph. Now imagine that this is done not merely to be clever but in service of a beautifully structured novel. Add in deftly handled symbolism throughout. Original character voices. Cultural insights. And MEANING---really weighty, important meaning and themes. That's why we're all drooling, and why its hundreds of pages fly by like a dozen. I hope we don't have to wait another 9 years for the next Franzen novel. Or maybe it's okay if we do, if it brings another novel like this.
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posted by Anonymous at
1:34 PM
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