I almost wanted to dislike this book because of all the fanfare and over-exposure Franzen received - I felt like I'd read it before I had read it. Surprisingly and happily, I was mostly proven wrong. The brilliant observations and spot-on characterization of a certain American milieu kept me hanging in there when Patty and Walter were thoroughly exhausting and provoking me. Was relieved to finish it in a way. Probably not 'The' but certainly A great American novel.