Putting the author aside, is this worth reading?

>>9233867
bumping. this book is pretty far down on my to read list but id still like to know what people think

>>9233867

Depends on what kind of novels you like to read.

>>9233867
how would you put the author aside

>>9233867
Not really, no

>>9233927

The only reason I even know Franzen is through DFW.

>>9233934

By not letting your opinions of the author affect how you perceive the book.

>>9233964

You like DFW? Then you'll probably like this a lot, but not see it as "important" as IJ.

>>9233964
Why would you have an opinion of the author before reading the book. Silly question I know

>>9233998

Because he's known for things outside of literature.

>>9233867
How To Be Alone was some pretty good nonfiction b-but I haven't tried his fiction yet

>>9233867

Yes. I've read this and Freedom, I would recommend you read them both. They're slightly samey in concept but work in reverse in terms of the political alignments of the parents/children. If Franzen gets anything, its the power-dynamics of white families, and both works are really fantastic for that.

most pretentious page I ever read

>>9233998
>Why would you have an opinion of the author before reading the book
>/it/

>>9235329
>>9235329
This. People (including me) meme him into being whiter than khaki shorts, but indeed, he's great at writing this kind of character. The Corrections is a great book and it made me deal a lot better with my dad's crazyness.

I read this last year and I didnt get it. I although am falling for all the /lit/ memes so I bought Purity and Freedom.

>>9235372

I mean he is. He's as much of a traditional white liberal as Walter Berglund (I actually wonder how much of that character - isn't - self insert), but that's the rub. The white nuclear family is this really powerful, integrated myth that he's set out to understanding, and in a lot of ways deflating. It actually somewhat reminds me of Faulkner's understanding and deconstruction of the myth of the South, although obviously done more in realist than in gothic style.

>>9234081
like what? wikipedia holds nothing

>>9235393
Haven't read Freedom yet but it actually feels sort of bad seeing so much of myself in Chip, including his worst flaws.

Yes, it's very good and the praise it gets is mostly deserved. Freedom was okay as well, but maybe only read it if you really loved the Corrections.

Like other anons have said, he seems to be only good at writing about upper middle-class white people so if you feel like you've read enough of that shit maybe read something else.

Any anons who have read Purity than can tell me if it's any good?

>>9233867
I liked it. I'm not saying I fully understand it.
I liked Freedom more but I read that before Corrections so I might think differently if it were reversed.
Freedom was a page turner for me where Corrections took me months to get through. This might be because I had a tough time getting through the chapters of the parents. he is describing the mental breakdown of the father via his internal subjectivity and seen outside from his wife's perspective. It can get a bit much.
All in all both are books I have really connected with.

>>9235410
i think he's referring to the whole thing with oprah where he was complaining that her nominating corrections for her book club was keeping his book from reaching male readers

>>9233867
I purchased this "work" at Goodwill for 1 dollar. Took me 220 pages to ultimately decide I had completely wasted my money and that Franzen is a total lewzer. He writes too much about breasts, like in a wtf is this bullshit way. And now I'm broke because that was my last dollar. Hope this helps.