The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen
5 out of 5
I asked for The Corrections in 2001 as a Christmas present. However, it sat on my shelf as a “Someday I’ll Read…” book until March of this year. The dysfunctional Lambert family is at the center of this novel, which is funny in much the same way that American Beauty was funny. You read the things that the Lambert children say to their parents, and you first think “Oh God, how awful.” Then you realize you’ve said the exact same thing to your parents. The children (Chip, Denise, and Gary) are each so involved with themselves and their problems that the last thing they want to do is get together for a family Thanksgiving - especially since their father, Alfred, was diagnosed with Parksinson’s. Enid, the eccentric mother, will stop at nothing to make sure that the children are all home for the holidays. Jonathan Franzen nailed the small-town, Midwestern family dynamic in this book. He also succeeded at capturing the disparity between the technology-and-money-driven millennials and their slow-paced, reluctant-to-change elders. But Franzen’s ability to create characters that are so relatable (even when they’re doing stupid or dislikable things) is what makes the book so compelling. This book is so, so, so, so good. And I highly suggest reading The Corrections before jumping into Franzen’s more recent book, Freedom (which I will review soon!).
