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greensocks's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
the relationship between the siblings reminded me of the show succession
imrosete's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
callikat's review against another edition
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
paola_mobileread's review against another edition
2.0
Only two stars may seem mean, as Franzen knows out to write (though at various places there is some of the excessive virtuosism more typical of the later [a:Philip Roth|463|Philip Roth|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1287938301p2/463.jpg] - e.g. Swede Levov's take on glove making in [b:American Pastoral|11650|American Pastoral|Philip Roth|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327935620s/11650.jpg|598119] -, with Frenzen again showing off how good he is at the keyboard). My disappointment is that this could have been so much better. After all, good prose must be the necessary pre-requisite for good literature, but in the end Frenzen did not put his talent to good use.
The characters, especially the three siblings of the Lambert family, are not credible at all: Denise, the only daughter, has an impossibly complicated love life, and an even less credible work arrangements (I am not giving anything away when I say she is a cook - a rather clumsy one, as her hands are cut beyond belief - none of the professional chefs I know has more than a scratch, and the amount of time she spends away from the kitchen is also something from outer space); Chip's work arrangements and associates become progressively overblown to reaching a climax which you would expect in the script of a Bond movie, and the eldest son, Gary, the most rounded of the three Lamber children, getting into more and more of a twisted relationship with his slightly deranged wife.
This fresco of American family and American life has a lot of entartaining moments: but given the space Frenzen has allowed himself to develop the plot, you can't help feeling let down by the succession of surprises and twists leaving not enough room for a more subtle study of the characters and the times. Sexual more of all types, greeedy capitalists, the wreck of old age: we know all that, I needed some cleverer, more skilful insights. In the end, though, I found the book rather shallow. Good for the beach, though.
The characters, especially the three siblings of the Lambert family, are not credible at all: Denise, the only daughter, has an impossibly complicated love life, and an even less credible work arrangements (I am not giving anything away when I say she is a cook - a rather clumsy one, as her hands are cut beyond belief - none of the professional chefs I know has more than a scratch, and the amount of time she spends away from the kitchen is also something from outer space); Chip's work arrangements and associates become progressively overblown to reaching a climax which you would expect in the script of a Bond movie, and the eldest son, Gary, the most rounded of the three Lamber children, getting into more and more of a twisted relationship with his slightly deranged wife.
This fresco of American family and American life has a lot of entartaining moments: but given the space Frenzen has allowed himself to develop the plot, you can't help feeling let down by the succession of surprises and twists leaving not enough room for a more subtle study of the characters and the times. Sexual more of all types, greeedy capitalists, the wreck of old age: we know all that, I needed some cleverer, more skilful insights. In the end, though, I found the book rather shallow. Good for the beach, though.
smeyers98's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
katherineflitsch_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Entirely loved and adored and admired
bhnmt61's review against another edition
4.0
Notes on re-reading at the end.
Original review: My cousin and I decided to tackle this book together. I'm glad I read it that way, because if I'd read it by myself, I never would have made it past the first fifty pages. Franzen brilliantly dissects the lives of a midwestern family. The parents, still living in the Midwest, are dealing with his Alzheimer's and her severe case of Midwest blinders. Their grown children are living on the East coast, and each of their lives is falling apart in a different way. Gary, the oldest, is married to the scarily insidious Caroline. The section devoted to them is a direct, and better written, antecedent of Gone Girl. Chip, the middle child, is failing miserably and pathetically at academia, writing, relationships, and everything else he tries. He ends up in Lithuania creating a website to defraud American investors, an amusing sendup of the internet and the gullibility spawned by greed. Denise, the youngest, is a top chef at a new restaurant in Philly, hopelessly smitten with a married friend. Franzen's writing is usually brilliant, although occasionally he flips into info-dump for pages at a time--surprising in a writer of his stature, and the main reason I give this one four stars instead of five. Laugh out loud funny, with characters you start out hating and grow to love. Also has the most vivid depiction of Alzheimer's I've read anywhere. Great book.
2021 re-read: I can still admire Franzen’s ability to spin a story, and to indulge in lavish displays of knowledge and vocabulary, but I enjoyed this much less on a second reading. It seemed much more mean-spirited than it did seven years ago. I think probably because seven years ago, I still identified with the three Lambert siblings. In 2021, newly arrived in my sixties and with adult children of my own, I clearly have more in common with Al and Enid than with their children, and Franzen is not kind to the elder Lamberts.
Original review: My cousin and I decided to tackle this book together. I'm glad I read it that way, because if I'd read it by myself, I never would have made it past the first fifty pages. Franzen brilliantly dissects the lives of a midwestern family. The parents, still living in the Midwest, are dealing with his Alzheimer's and her severe case of Midwest blinders. Their grown children are living on the East coast, and each of their lives is falling apart in a different way. Gary, the oldest, is married to the scarily insidious Caroline. The section devoted to them is a direct, and better written, antecedent of Gone Girl. Chip, the middle child, is failing miserably and pathetically at academia, writing, relationships, and everything else he tries. He ends up in Lithuania creating a website to defraud American investors, an amusing sendup of the internet and the gullibility spawned by greed. Denise, the youngest, is a top chef at a new restaurant in Philly, hopelessly smitten with a married friend. Franzen's writing is usually brilliant, although occasionally he flips into info-dump for pages at a time--surprising in a writer of his stature, and the main reason I give this one four stars instead of five. Laugh out loud funny, with characters you start out hating and grow to love. Also has the most vivid depiction of Alzheimer's I've read anywhere. Great book.
2021 re-read: I can still admire Franzen’s ability to spin a story, and to indulge in lavish displays of knowledge and vocabulary, but I enjoyed this much less on a second reading. It seemed much more mean-spirited than it did seven years ago. I think probably because seven years ago, I still identified with the three Lambert siblings. In 2021, newly arrived in my sixties and with adult children of my own, I clearly have more in common with Al and Enid than with their children, and Franzen is not kind to the elder Lamberts.
cryssofthewild's review against another edition
3.0
I finished this book out of spite. The characters made me intensely angry, as though at every turn they made the wrong decision. It was akin to watching a horror movie and yelling in silent frustration at the screen. Well written, infuriating examination of family, relationships, and personal struggle.
vicky_reads_writes_reviews's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
aperillo's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0