A review by mariocomputer
The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen
5.0
I don't have the same worldview as Jonathan Franzen, but I am hard-pressed to find any author who writes as well about relationships and families and personalities as well as he does. I couldn't put this book down. I read 600 pages in a week, which is a lot more than I've been reading in a long while.
It doesn't surprise me to find out that Noah Baumbach wanted to adapt this book for TV. I feel like this falls right in with mumblecore stuff I've watched like Frances Ha and Transparent. It's stories about white affluent people, and their relationship to the contemporary world, and their family dramas. It's deeply dark and cynical. It tries to act like any left-wing desires white liberals have are frivolous and hypocritical (although the most loathsome character, Gary, is definitely no liberal). It tries to be post-political, or above politics. So although this book is does not appeal to me on a political level, it's so well-executed that I have to admit that it's really, really good, mainly because of the masterful way it accesses humanity.
It doesn't surprise me to find out that Noah Baumbach wanted to adapt this book for TV. I feel like this falls right in with mumblecore stuff I've watched like Frances Ha and Transparent. It's stories about white affluent people, and their relationship to the contemporary world, and their family dramas. It's deeply dark and cynical. It tries to act like any left-wing desires white liberals have are frivolous and hypocritical (although the most loathsome character, Gary, is definitely no liberal). It tries to be post-political, or above politics. So although this book is does not appeal to me on a political level, it's so well-executed that I have to admit that it's really, really good, mainly because of the masterful way it accesses humanity.