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A review by ifnotparis
Purity by Jonathan Franzen
4.0
"Purity" is a classic Franzen novel: all of the characters are white and have upper-middle class white people issues. Even the "poorest" (economically speaking) characters in the novel are poor out of choice. But this is Franzen's world, and he illustrates it beautifully. He's a wealthy, white male intellectual whose traumas and tragedies seem to be quite internal and psychological. It's reminiscent of Kundera with a lot less sex.
The plot plays second-fiddle to the psychological profiles of the characters, who uniformly have issues with the mother figures in their lives. This all sounds like a criticism, but it was a pleasure to read. Understanding that Franzen's writing is more or less a mirror of his own personal relationships and psychology doesn't take away from the work, it simply puts it in context. He writes about people who are like him, for better and for worse.
PROSE: As good as you'll find anywhere. The writing is superb.
PLOT: Intriguing, if a bit disconnected from the reality of the Internet culture it attempts to portray (Franzen hates the Internet and doesn't use social media, and yet he's written a book about the internal workings of technocracy ...)
CHARACTERS: Not very diverse in either background or psychological hangups, but unique and quirky enough to stay interested in their plight.
VERDICT: 4/5 stars. The man's a great storyteller.
[b:Purity|23754479|Purity|Jonathan Franzen|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1438958976s/23754479.jpg|43369154]
The plot plays second-fiddle to the psychological profiles of the characters, who uniformly have issues with the mother figures in their lives. This all sounds like a criticism, but it was a pleasure to read. Understanding that Franzen's writing is more or less a mirror of his own personal relationships and psychology doesn't take away from the work, it simply puts it in context. He writes about people who are like him, for better and for worse.
PROSE: As good as you'll find anywhere. The writing is superb.
PLOT: Intriguing, if a bit disconnected from the reality of the Internet culture it attempts to portray (Franzen hates the Internet and doesn't use social media, and yet he's written a book about the internal workings of technocracy ...)
CHARACTERS: Not very diverse in either background or psychological hangups, but unique and quirky enough to stay interested in their plight.
VERDICT: 4/5 stars. The man's a great storyteller.
[b:Purity|23754479|Purity|Jonathan Franzen|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1438958976s/23754479.jpg|43369154]