Word: franzens
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...Franzen is also the author of two previous novels, The Twenty-Seventh City (1988) and Strong Motion (1992). Neither one was a huge commercial success, but reviewers were fairly enthusiastic. Comparisons to other authors included Updike, Irving and DeLillo, and some even speculated that Franzen might prove himself to be a successor to the likes of DeLillo and Pynchon. But another reason that people are paying so much attention to Franzen’s newest novel is the 1996 Harper’s piece in which he lamented the state of American fiction and argued that the way to save...
With his third novel, Franzen has admirably succeeded in exploring personal dramas while offering a striking picture of American culture. These ambitions make The Corrections a complex and sophisticated work, but Franzen’s skill is such the novel is a charming and touching reading experience as well. The Corrections has a remarkable view of the world, and this is made apparent through our encounters with the Lambert family. We first meet Enid and Alfred performing the slow and futile rituals of married life after retirement. Alfred, reticent and principled, is waging a stubborn battle against Parkinson?...
...novel slowly builds up to that most wonderful of American family events, Christmas at home. Enid is determined to have one last Christmas at the family home, one that will make up for any and all of the imperfections that plague their lives. Before we get to Christmas, however, Franzen is busy sketching out the big picture details of American life through the Lamberts’ various misadventures. If a life is lived in the details, then Franzen’s grasp of the Lamberts’ inner and superficial lives is fabulous. He gives us striking and pitch-perfect...
...extraordinary people, and they are not caught in extraordinary situations. A Christmas at home of sorts does take place, but nothing is easily resolved or learned. Even though we see them become a little older and wiser, they are not necessarily transformed; surely crisis will strike their lives again. Franzen isn’t so foolish as to pretend that these are the definitive episodes in their separate or collective lives. He has merely captured the Lamberts moving through the circumstances of the larger world. It is such a simple thing, but the significance of his accomplishment...
...Patterns--you get a better book. The Corrections does not "solve" the mystery of family life, but it renders its mysteries with the fine filament and moral nuance they require. There are already an impressive 90,000 copies in print. While that's not quite John Grisham territory, Franzen has so far made more than a million dollars. This could be another reason why he's feeling optimistic about the literary novel these days. He may be right that serious fiction has not gone the elitist route of chamber music. But what happens to The Corrections in the marketplace...