Wooh! This one was a beast! I hadn't read anything by Franzen before, but I knew this was supposed to be one of the year's hot books, so I decided to give it a try. Franzen didn't disappoint.
Clocking in at 650+ pages, this complex family drama is sprawling, intense, a little exhausting, and emotional. The book follows the Berglund family, husband Walter, wife Patty, and their children Jessica and Joey, plus Walter's best friend, Richard. Alternating between an omniscient narrator and Patty's autobiography (a therapy project), we follow the Berglunds from Patty's high school years to meeting Walter in college, and up through their children going to college. Franzen also tells us about their respective families as well (which can sometimes go on a little too long).
Franzen doesn't bother attempting to make the Berglunds likable. There are no real heroes here. I went from liking Patty to hating her to liking her to hating her to feeling bad for her to kind of liking her.... and so on. These are deeply flawed characters, capable of evil, vindictive betrayals. The lack of allegiance to each other is shocking. But it makes for a fascinating character study. There's plenty of other stuff sprinkled in - Walter's work for a conservation trust and his goal to reduce overpopulation result in pages of diatribe, but it's all interesting. Freedom is full of drama and tragedy, and Franzen weaves a masterful tale of the conflicts that might destroy the Berglunds forever. Worth the read.
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