Sharyl reviewed Strong Motion by Jonathan Franzen
Review of 'Strong Motion' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
After reading Jonathan Franzen's more recent blockbusters, I'd expected to be disappointed in this earlier novel. I was not. In some ways, it was more substantial and more relevant to me than his latest tome, Purity.
For one thing, I do enjoy and find fascinating his digressions, how he annexes history lectures and background information as part of his story, instead of bogging us readers down with end notes. I felt that this information added to my appreciation of what was going on in the present.
There were times when I wanted to smack some of the characters, but that's normal. Really, Franzen always introduces us to people with peculiar problems who don't make the best decisions. The heroine of the novel, Renee Seitchek, was very well drawn. I came to like her, problems and all.
Franzen's writing is superb, and I'm impressed with the scope of this plot. I …
After reading Jonathan Franzen's more recent blockbusters, I'd expected to be disappointed in this earlier novel. I was not. In some ways, it was more substantial and more relevant to me than his latest tome, Purity.
For one thing, I do enjoy and find fascinating his digressions, how he annexes history lectures and background information as part of his story, instead of bogging us readers down with end notes. I felt that this information added to my appreciation of what was going on in the present.
There were times when I wanted to smack some of the characters, but that's normal. Really, Franzen always introduces us to people with peculiar problems who don't make the best decisions. The heroine of the novel, Renee Seitchek, was very well drawn. I came to like her, problems and all.
Franzen's writing is superb, and I'm impressed with the scope of this plot. I would recommend it to anyone.