Paperback, 653 pages
English language
Published April 10, 2002 by Harpercollins Pub Ltd, HarperPerennial.
The Corrections is a 2001 novel by American author Jonathan Franzen. It revolves around the troubles of an elderly Midwestern couple and their three adult children, tracing their lives from the mid-20th century to "one last Christmas" together near the turn of the millennium. The novel was awarded the National Book Award in 2001 and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 2002. The Corrections was published to wide acclaim from literary critics for its characterization and prose. While the novel's release preceded the September 11 terrorist attacks by ten days, many have interpreted The Corrections as having prescient insight into the major concerns and general mood of post-9/11 American life, and it has been listed in multiple publications as one of the greatest novels of the 21st century.
Is this Updike for the early twenty-first century? I loved the backbone of the corrections that the individual family members tried to make in their lives, against the background of the market 'corrections'.
A richly moving, yet very amusing, chronicle of a family dealing with the vicissitudes of old age and trying to make a mark in early middle age.
This is a genre that just isn't for me. Franzen was recommended by my boss, but this is absolutely not working for me.
I hated the characters, especially Gary and pre-Lithuania Chip, with a passion. I kept groaning about Enid and Alfred and how unnecessary difficult they made their life. The most accomplished seemed to be Denise, and after what she did, that success doesn't come easy. I think I like her, though.
I almost stopped reading this after I'd started, as it seemed just a mite too clever. But the well-written sentences and plot are compelling, even as they teeter between floridness and cynicism, and I enjoyed it more the more I read. I found myself chuckling out loud at times. But I ultimately felt the balance tipped towards cynicism too much throughout for me to say that I really enjoyed this novel. I wonder where the author stands in relation to his characters -- is this just a complete farce?
Maybe better to read when naivety of youth gives you a slightly thicker skin when it comes to family ties and relationships. Crushingly well observed and described.
This was an amazing book. In my opinion, it was extremely well written, entertaining and assuring since it documented the story a family even more messed up than my own extended one. (Mom, you don't count as messed up!)
Excellent characters, tight plot line. In short, it was a truely great read that I couldn't put down.
