≡ [PDF] Free Freedom A Novel Jonathan Franzen Books

Freedom A Novel Jonathan Franzen Books

Download As PDF : Freedom A Novel Jonathan Franzen Books

Freedom A Novel Jonathan Franzen Books

What can I say? I really enjoyed this book. I liked the way Franzen began with a tapestry, a lifescape for his characters, I liked the way he meticulously unraveled this tapestry before our reading eyes, and continued to unravel it such that it seemed impossible for the characters, the events, the plot, and the setting to be unraveled any further, and then they are unraveled further, and then the author throws the threads on the ground, tramples on them, and then brings them up again, and carefully, thread by thread, re-weaves the tapestry until it is bigger and grander than it was before. The whole effect is utterly cathartic. I laughed at so many sections, and re-read certain sections that I felt were incredibly odd but delightful. I identified with the characters, mostly with their constant pools of embarrassment, guilt and shame that come with being a human--especially the kind who continues to make terrible mistakes (shame and guilt are exactly those emotions which Franzen enjoys drawing mercilessly, as if to show that once out, it’s no big deal). It’s a satire, but in a subtle way—so yes, laugh, especially when Walter loses himself into all CAPS and Patty sleepwalks against her will. And read with a hearty attitude—it’s no breezy stroll in the park. More like a hike along the ocean in a cold but invigorating gale that blows into your face no matter which way you turn, but which occasionally breaks to allow you fleeting glimpses of magnificent sun-streaked cliffs, reminding you how deep and wide the experience and scope of life can be.


Tags : Amazon.com: Freedom: A Novel (9780374158460): Jonathan Franzen: Books,Jonathan Franzen,Freedom: A Novel,Farrar, Straus and Giroux,0374158460,Family Life,City and town life - Minnesota,City and town life;Minnesota;Fiction.,Domestic fiction,Husband and wife - Minnesota,Husband and wife;Minnesota;Fiction.,Middle class families,Middle class families;Fiction.,010101 FSG Cloth,AMERICAN CONTEMPORARY FICTION,American Contemporary Fiction - Individual Authors +,City and town life,FICTION Family Life General,FICTION Literary,Fiction,Fiction - General,Fiction-Literary,GENERAL,General Adult,Husband and wife,Literary,Minnesota,Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945),United States,american literature; contemporary fiction; literary fiction; the great american novel; great american novel; social realism; family life; best selling authors; best selling fiction; political fiction; political fiction books; minnesota; environmental issues; contemporary novels; new york times best selling books; jonathen franzen; jonathan frazen

Freedom A Novel Jonathan Franzen Books Reviews

"Freedom," by Jonathan Franzen, is a near-perfect example of American contemporary literature. Even knowing the length of the book when I started it and having a job and home to care for, once I picked it up and began reading, the story, the characters and some of the best-written dialogue I've read, sucked me in so completely that it became almost an addiction. The more I read, the more. I needed to read. The main characters, Walter and Patty Berglund and their two children and extended families and friends became more real then the one I normally inhabit. It's a tale of unrequited love, all forms of married life, jealousy and self-hatred. Easily one of the most interesting plots I've read in a long time, their words and thoughts resounded in my head as things I've probably uttered at times in my life. A backdrop of environmentalism, athletic, rock and roll, politics and family interaction (both wonderful and toxic) make this one of my favorites ever. Bravo, Mr. Franzen! More, please!
I didn’t read this when it first came out because people were talking about it so much. Actually they were talking about the author and whether it was fair how much critical attention his books got. Yes, it was. This is a masterpiece. It doesn’t seem like it will be interesting but that’s what a brilliant writer can do. That’s why it got so much acclaim. An excellent rendering of a part of society during a crazy period of history. Until 2016 to present of course, which makes all else seem normal. This is a reminder that the W years were pretty crooked too. Long but it didn’t drag at all.
Jonathan Franzen is simply our best male American living novelist. This story of a dysfunctional American family pulls you into their lives and wont let go. Patty is a wife, mother, woman whose mind is divided into two realities - pretty much like most women who decided marriage and children were their main goals in life in their early twenties until they got what they thought they wanted.
Patty's husband, Walter, head-over-heels with Patty, is overjoyed she chose him over his best friend, Richard, until a few years go by and the quotidian reality of marriage rears its ugly head.
The title FREEDOM is about the choices we make in life, the singular freedom Americans have that most people in the world don't; i.e, whom to marry, where to live, how to raise their children, according to custom, religion, traditions and rules. They don't have the responsibility our Freedoms afford and sometimes devastate us.

All the while, Freedom's pages quickly turn to reveal more about the Berglunds and their rebellious teenage children (are there any other kind?) This reader cares what happens to everyone, even the not so likeable.
This reader gets the impression Franzen could have written any other book he wanted—he has that much talent—or he could have written this book in any of several other ways. And just as successfully if not more so. Still, warts and all, I recommend this novel even though Franzen obviously has the power to have crafted it far better.

Okay, Franzen does deal with freedom as a theme here and there, but the book should probably have been titled Dysfunction, and man, is it full of that in spades.

Structurally, this novel packs more subplots and minor characters into its pages than a Dickens tome. Fortunately, only a few of these become tedious, though some appear irrelevant, at least at the level of detail he presents. He also treats us to some truly idiosyncratic approaches to punctuation and capitalization--especially a liberal use of colons and parenthetical details set off in commas.

And talk about hooks and leaving the reader hanging? Franzen constantly jumps around in time, dropping one set of characters in favor of another, at least for the time being. See, he does return through flashbacks to pick up where he left off to fill us in. “Oh, so that’s what happened,” we say. And in some cases, the flashbacks jump through multiple generations. Yikes.

Further, he relishes triangles, the type that focus on love, sex, lust, and other human preoccupations that can become quite unhappy. He also gives us his takes on place, such as the upper Midwest, New York and its environs, and Washington DC and vicinity—hey, he spends much time in West Virginia and even South America. The characters change, grow, fade, and are re-reviewed and seen in new lights by their fellow characters from time to time as the plot progresses.
What can I say? I really enjoyed this book. I liked the way Franzen began with a tapestry, a lifescape for his characters, I liked the way he meticulously unraveled this tapestry before our reading eyes, and continued to unravel it such that it seemed impossible for the characters, the events, the plot, and the setting to be unraveled any further, and then they are unraveled further, and then the author throws the threads on the ground, tramples on them, and then brings them up again, and carefully, thread by thread, re-weaves the tapestry until it is bigger and grander than it was before. The whole effect is utterly cathartic. I laughed at so many sections, and re-read certain sections that I felt were incredibly odd but delightful. I identified with the characters, mostly with their constant pools of embarrassment, guilt and shame that come with being a human--especially the kind who continues to make terrible mistakes (shame and guilt are exactly those emotions which Franzen enjoys drawing mercilessly, as if to show that once out, it’s no big deal). It’s a satire, but in a subtle way—so yes, laugh, especially when Walter loses himself into all CAPS and Patty sleepwalks against her will. And read with a hearty attitude—it’s no breezy stroll in the park. More like a hike along the ocean in a cold but invigorating gale that blows into your face no matter which way you turn, but which occasionally breaks to allow you fleeting glimpses of magnificent sun-streaked cliffs, reminding you how deep and wide the experience and scope of life can be.