The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen
The Story: The Lamberts were a typical midwestern family. But now the children have grown up and moved East and gotten into all their own problems. The father is now suffering from Parkinsons and dementia. The mother just wants one last Christmas with everyone at home, and the family has to figure out if they want to make that happen and how.
The Review: I hated this book. I hope that you do notice that for me that is quite an extreme reaction. I'll expound though, I didn't like this book so much that it took me a month and a half to read it. Mostly because I couldn't force myself to pick it up!
This is the final book that I chose for my American Lit class. Yes, I chose it without reading it first. And yes, I regret that so much that I am thinking about just getting rid of it from the schedule entirely.
Ok, let me actually explain what I didn't like about the book.
1. The characters were not likable at all. In fact, I hated most of them. I couldn't even feel sympathy toward Alfred, the ailing father.
2. The family acts entirely selfishly, which in many cases causes them to act cruelly. See #1.
3. Lots of completely gratuitous sex, drugs, and swearing.
This has been a book that has always interested me. Thanks for sharing so I don't have to read it! Remove it from your schedule. I support you from pennsylvania!
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