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Jonathan Franzen - The Corrections

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The Lambert family isn't doing well. Alfred has Parkinson's disease and a bad case of alienation from his wife, Enid. Gary is a banker with a heart of steel. Chip is in New York City trying to find himself, but losing the battle. And Denise is stuck in a destructive affair with someone very unsuitable. Enid is hoping to steal away with Alfred for a long-postponed cruise, but as things start to spiral out of control, the Lamberts must examine where they are, where they have been, and what exactly it means to be a family in the latter half of the 20th century. THE CORRECTIONS was a bestseller and a New York Times "Editor's Choice" for 2001.

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Jonathan Franzen’s Family Portrait: Trouble at the Table
Oct 22, 2001

Pros: Smart, funny, literate, accessible

Cons: Uneven, exhausting, too self-conscious

Bottom Line: Read it and weep: If we really left it to Beaver, is this how far the nuclear family has crumbled? Do the sons of the fathers really know best?

Author's Rating

Corrections by Jonathan Franzen - missed opportunities
Oct 29, 2001

Pros: Well written passages, drawing vivid visual images.

Cons: Disturbing themes. Certain sections laborious to read.

Bottom Line: Not literature for the masses. Franzen draws achingly real pictures of a family needing corrections. Contains some disturbing themes and is for adults only.

Author's Rating

Jonathan Franzen’s THE CORRECTIONS -2001
May 21, 2003

Pros: A LITTLE humor, stylish, but impressively long, with well constructed sentences.

Cons: Immortalizes mediocrity

Bottom Line: No matter how you dress it, or praise it, this is a pointless and depressing story, peopled by shallow and unpleasant people.

Author's Rating

Dysfunctional Family & Loss Of Sales: Dude, What Were You Thinking About?
Nov 04, 2001

Pros: Universal themes such as family, pain, celebration, success, divorce and failure

Cons: Long descriptions

Bottom Line: An interesting book about an average, middle-class American family with all kinds of dirty laundry, fury, humor, division and unhappiness.

Author's Rating

Not 'The Great American Novel', But Pretty Great Nonetheless: Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections
Aug 24, 2002

Pros: Truly insightful, mercilessly satiric, and endlessly readable

Cons: The O-Factor may still bother some (although I got over it, so you might too)

Bottom Line: A challenging read that lives up to the hype. That's as good a bottom line as I can think of.

Author's Rating

Correct Me If I'm Wrong
May 30, 2002

Pros: Vivid characters and humor punctuates this family's life stories and misguided adventures.

Cons: Descriptive to a tedious degree at times.

Bottom Line: A good read for the in-tune reader with a love for character portrayal, description and scene-painting.

Author's Rating

Correct Me If I'm Wrong, But...
Mar 23, 2003

Pros: It makes a good paper weight.

Cons: Tedious, wordy, hyped beyond belief.

Bottom Line: If I could, I'd give it zero stars if I were to accurately rate this coma-inducer.

Author's Rating

Domestic Discomfort
May 26, 2002

Pros: Engaging, and skillfully constructed story with memorable characters.

Cons: Entirely too long, Franzen loves to listen to himself write.

Bottom Line: A remarkably complex and dark novel that is at once a literary achievement to behold and an exhausting effort to read.

Author's Rating

Skillfully conceived, adeptly written
Mar 30, 2008

Pros: Extremely well-written, pages turn easily.

Cons: Cynical view of contemporary society.

Bottom Line: In spite of a somewhat pessimistic view of the world, this novel is well-written and enjoyable.

Author's Rating

Who Needs Correcting?
Feb 08, 2002

Pros: Good strong writing with believable characters and all too convincing family situations.

Cons: A bit long and certainly depressing. This is not carefree pleasure reading!

Bottom Line: A book about family and how criticism can destroy what might be happier and more contented lives. Discontent and blame illustrate the damage done when love and understanding could prevail.

Author's Rating

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