I'm almost to the end of Freedom....

[WCGreen]

The Oprah book club choice, the number one best seller on the New York Times Fiction list...

It's a good book, well laid out and captures the mood of the country very well.

The problem I am having with the book is it seems as if Franzen did marketing research on his target audience and thus produced the book.

And that is why it seems to me to be slightly over the top.

I know that the main difference between a literary novel and popular fiction is that the former will rely more on its characters and while the latter is structured around plot.

However, in this case, we get to learn far too much about the characters.

Don't get me wrong. I am enjoying the book. But to me, it really doesn't deserve all the accolades.

Rereading the NYT featured book review made me think about about what I expected going in and what was delivered.

I wouldn't say that it was cynical in it's delivery, but Freedom has the feel of a book designed to garner the favor of the New York Times as well as Oprah.

I guess there is nothing wrong with that.

But the praise seems slightly feint to me now that I am almost finished with the book.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. Sometimes book reviews can mislead us, the way movie reviews do.

They can give us a mistaken idea about what the book is really about or make it seem as though it's really better than it turned out to be...

It's hard to know what to expect, especially from reviewers you have learned to trust.

Faint praise can be difficult to discern, for sure.

[Paladin]

2. See How You Feel After You Finish The Last Page. (n/t)

[WCGreen]

3. I did...

Nothing changed...

[Paladin]

4. So Be It.

I thought it was outstanding---and not because the NYT book review told me I should......

[WCGreen]

5. I really liked it but it isn't the best book I have read this year....

I take cues from the NYT Book review because I don't hang around with enough people who read at the level I read...

My favorite so far is The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman.

I also really enjoyed Citrus County by John Brandon and really enjoyed A visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan...

It's still a really good book but these other books took a more daring approach to telling their story.

[Paladin]

6. The Only Other Novel That Really Did It For Me This Year....

...other than "Freedom," was David Mitchell's "The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet," a superb historical novel set in late 18th century Japan.

[WCGreen]

7. That's funny....

After I finish the Ambassador by Henry James, the Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet is next up...

I'm looking forward to it...

[Paladin]

8. Hope You LIke It.

It's kind of like "Shogun," but 1000% more intelligent......

[Jim__]

9. *** SPOILERS **** This is one powerful book.

I do agree that the book is enjoyable. But, I disagree with much else that you had to say about it. Actually, I think the book is extremely good. I don't believe anyone can write such a book by basing it on market research. I am curious as to what parts of the book you are referring to when you say he is fawning to public tastes.

I don't know what the reviews led you to expect - I try not to read reviews before I read a book. I'd be interested to hear what you were expecting, and how the actual book was disappointing in view of these expectations.

The main characters are all 3 dimensional - excepting Lalitha who I believe serves more as a symbol than a character. To me, one of the main functions of literature is to answer the question, "How should we live?" This book addresses that question. The characters and families in this book mostly travel in social circles that are far from the social circles I travel in. Yet, the relationships between these characters resonate with me. I've made those mistakes. I've felt those emotions. The book goes a long way toward explaining how we make some of our mistakes, gives us some idea of how to avoid them.

Walter makes a young man's mistake when he takes Patty back after she goes on the trip with Richard. He's angry. He knows he's not her first choice. Yet he accepts her, and their young marriage is, somewhat, overshadowed by this knowledge. Patty's not completely happy. He knows it. Marrying a woman who is only settling for you is a mistake of immaturity.

The book is also rich in structure. For instance, in the first few pages we have the newly married Patty going door to door in the old Ramsey Hill neighborhood, giving plates of cookies to the neighbors, making friends, building community. In the last few pages we have the long married and aging Patty, going door to door in the new Canterbridge Estates neighborhood, giving plates of cookies to the neighbors, making friends, building community. But what a difference the intervening years and events make. How much more value we see in this simple act at the end of the book. Or, for instance, Patty's autobiography, passively titled Mistakes Were Made, where she consistently refers to herself as "the autobiographer" and the audience as "my readers" - instead of to "I" and "you". This impersonal style reflects one of the themes of the book, the little things we neglect that have a huge impact on our lives.

Finally, I have to ask if you were moved at the end. I was. It's hard for me to picture someone reading this book and not being moved at the end.