A review by rerosenthal85
Purity by Jonathan Franzen

There are about 3 separate novels contained in this book. Additionally, my past reflections on other Franzen works I've read apply here. His endeavor to write something he'll call a "novel", but which is really 400 (ish) pages political ranting, never fails to lasso critical praise. However, it seems to me that in the day and age in which we live, there is no room in the literary canon for an individual who seeks in every publication to self-promote, to promulgate the idea that every female in existence must be a manipulative Borderline Personality Disorder patient, to and deify immoral, abusive, weak men. An NPR reviewer noted that this novel is characterized by "contempt for the reader" (ironic, on account of the reader in question is signing JF's royalty checks). I'd generalize that sentiment to contempt for humanity in general.