Finished Tu 8/16/11
FREEDOM was the August selection for my book club.
I have read one other novel by this author, THE TWENTY-SEVENTH CITY, and I thought that book was kind of odd. It was fairly hard for me to accept the premise of a foreign take-over of St. Louis by a sexy socialite and a new female police commissioner from India. I suppose it was a satire, but it seemed kind of a reach. However, I completely enjoyed FREEDOM, and his new novel is a long and thorough tale of an intricate star-crossed love triangle. Walter and Patty Berglund are married, yet they have serious issues within the marriage. Patty still has a crush on Walter's college roommate, Richard, and Walter is wrapped up in his career. The novel spans a few decades, and scrutinizes the personal lives of these central characters, and also those of their family and friends. And, certain relevant topical and cultural issues are examined. One issue in particular seems to be that Jonathan Franzen has a personal issue with house cats that are allowed to roam free because these lovable creatures have a significant negative impact on the song bird population. I was never aware of this issue.
This novel very much reminded me of John Updike's, Harry 'Rabbit' Angstrom series. Another comic-serious novel which expertly details and chronicles the triumphs and frustrations of a group of intensely connected people over an extended period of time
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