rejoice at the dysfunctional family dynamics and unlikeable

Nothing left to lose in post 9 Jonathan Franzen's Cheap Puma Shoes brand new novel, Women Ralph Lauren Hoodies Freedom, got a lot of attention Women Ralph Lauren Long Sleeved before it even came out. When President Obama selected an advance copy of the novel as his summer reading, pre orders skyrocketed. Shortly after it came out, Oprah Winfrey chose Freedom for her book club, the first (and likely only) entry in 2010, saying it would be one of the best novels you'd read in your life. While I'm disappointed that Oprah would use her magic bookselling powers to promote a novel that Mens Puma Brazil Edition was a bestseller before it debuted, I was definitely intrigued by Ms. Winfrey's superlative statement. Did the novel deliver on this promise? For me, ultimately, no. I was underwhelmed. However, Franzen's writing is vivid and insightful, starkly realistic and surprisingly readable. The novel opens with a neighborhood's view of the Berglund family, who shortly become the main characters of the novel. This opening passage was a little overwhelming for me to read, not having read Franzen's writing in the Women Ralph Lauren Olympics past. He throws Mens Puma Mummy Shoes characters' names around in a machine gun's rapid fire, and I found it hard to sort out which people belonged with Men Ralph Lauren Stripe Polo what family, and who held what role within these groups. After several pages I was able to sort most of this out, but Franzen really didn't seem interested in guiding his reader through the novel, but rather immersing them in his style. Once I became comfortable with his writing, however, I Women Ralph Lauren Long Sleeved felt no confusion at all. In fact, his writing is quite clear and eloquent. My favorite part of the novel was Patty Berglund's autobiography, in which she recounts a high school rape and the subsequent estrangement from her family, her time on the basketball team at college in the Mid West (far away from her New York family), her friendship with the obsessive Eliza, and her lust over budding rock star Richard Katz. Fans of realistic fiction will rejoice at the dysfunctional family dynamics and unlikeable characters in this novel. The Women's Puma Lazy Insect Shoes key to creating a novel with unlikeable characters that remains a pleasure to read is their charm or humor. While I found this novel short on humor, many characters had their charm. Despite his womanizing tendencies, Richard Katz maintains his charm, even if it is in a juvenile sense. Patty, too, has her charms, even as Women's Puma Ferrari Shoes an alcoholic woman having a mid life crisis. Her husband Walter's environmentalism makes for thought provoking reading and endears him to the reader, but his assistant and eventual lover Lalitha lacked as a character, possessing few traits beyond bitterness and beauty. One of my problems with this novel is how realistic it feels. I felt no spark of joy from the plot, and it was primarily Franzen's strong and insightful voice that kept me reading. Aside from Patty's autobiography, the novel lacked a sense of irony or humor that would have aided it in tone and texture. The second of my primary issues is this novel's length. Though I can't really see it being shorter, I didn't think this book earned being 562 pages in hardback. Thematically, it is chocked full of great stuff to sink your teeth into: love, loss, family, duty, wealth, nature, forgiveness and redemption certainly some heavy hitters in the literary circuit. Though Franzen negotiates these ideas with grace, the resolutions are often unfulfilling. Bottom Line: If Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose, Franzen's title is quite wise, for nearly all of his characters face various versions of rock bottom emotional desperation. Four stars.