'Freedom' by Jonathan Franzen - Book Review

Jonathan Franzen is a critically acclaimed and bestselling author of The Corrections. His newest novel, Freedom, has attracted critical praise as well, and for good reason--Freedom is a masterful, absorbing and sprawling novel that's both compulsively readable and exquisitely written.

Freedom is about two polite Midwestern parents, Patti and Walter Berglund. The novel opens with an outside perspective on the Berglunds in the form of their neighbors opinions of Walter and Patti, who felt that "there had always been something not quite right about the couple." What exactly has gone wrong with the couple takes most of the novel to unfold, which is not to say that Franzen is coy with his plot. The story of the Berglunds unfolds at what feels like a natural pace. Walter Berglund and his son, Joey, find themselves professionally enmeshed in coal mining and military supply controversies while Patti deals with parenting disappointments and lingering attraction to Walter's best friend from college, who is now a rock star.

Franzen has a history of experiencing backlash for his success. In 2001, his debut novel, The Corrections, was a literary and commercial sensation that was chosen for Oprah's Book Club, but when the author expressed something less than delight at the prospect of an Oprah logo on his novel, the invitation was rescinded. This time around, bestselling author Jodi Picoult raised a fuss after the New York Times raved about Freedom, complaining that the paper focused too much attention on white, male writers. These "scandals" shouldn't distract anyone from the quality of Franzen's writing, and to the extent that his books get people talking about bigger issues surrounding literature, popularity and the media they probably increase his impact as a writer.

But those are just interesting side points; the bottom line is that Freedom should not be skipped.