'The Corrections' by Jonathan Franzen is a darkly funny novel that delves into the lives of the Lambert family, portraying their struggles and dynamics in a dysfunctional American family setting. The book follows the aging couple, Enid and Alfred, as they try to bring their three adult children together for a last Christmas, unraveling the failures, secrets, and buried hurts that haunt them. Through brilliant writing and vivid character portrayals, Franzen captures the essence of family life and suburbia, exploring themes of guilt, longing, and the complexities of relationships.

Characters:

The characters are portrayed as complex individuals grappling with their shortcomings, making them relatable despite their flaws.

Writing/Prose:

Franzen's writing combines intricate language with dark humor, offering a vivid exploration of each character's psychology.

Plot/Storyline:

The narrative depicts the struggles of a dysfunctional family as they navigate personal failures and societal expectations during a familial reunion.

Setting:

The setting captures the essence of Midwestern America as it grapples with contemporary societal issues and familial expectations.

Pacing:

The pacing varies, with some slow sections that delve into detail followed by a quicker pace as the narrative progresses.

The madness of an autumn prairie cold front coming through. You could feel it: something terrible was going to happen. The sun low in the sky, a minor light, a cooling star. Gust after gust of disorde...

Notes:

Jonathan Franzen wrote part of this novel while blindfolded and isolated in a soundproof room.

The book features a character who hallucinates a talking turd, showcasing an absurdist humor amidst serious themes.

Franzen explores the breakdown of a Midwestern family during a Thanksgiving dinner gone awry.

Each character is deeply flawed, with the narrative shifting perspectives among the father, mother, and their three adult children.

The themes of consumerism, aging, and family dysfunction are prevalent throughout the novel.

Franzen's writing has been compared to other notable authors such as David Foster Wallace and Don DeLillo for its complexity.

The Corrections won the National Book Award and received significant attention from Oprah's Book Club, which Franzen famously rejected.

One of the characters, Alfred, is depicted in a detailed manner suffering from Alzheimer's, providing insight into dementia's impact on family dynamics.

Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings

Content warnings include discussions of mental illness, dementia, substance abuse, dysfunctional family dynamics, sexual harassment, and themes of depression and existential crisis.

From The Publisher:

#1 NEW YORK TIMES Bestseller

NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER

"A spellbinding novel" (People) from the New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Franzen, The Corrections is a comic, tragic epic of worlds colliding: an old-fashioned world of civic virtue and sexual inhibitions, a new world of home surveillance, hands-off parenting, do-it-yourself mental health care, and globalized greed.

After almost fifty years as a wife and mother, Enid Lambert is ready to have some fun. Unfortunately, her husband, Alfred, is losing his sanity to Parkinson's disease, and their children have long since flown the family nest to the catastrophes of their own lives.

The oldest, Gary, a once-stable portfolio manager and family man, is trying to convince his wife and himself that, despite certain alarming indicators, he is not clinically depressed. The middle child, Chip, has lost his seemingly secure academic job and is failing spectacularly at his new line of work. And Denise, the youngest, has escaped a disastrous marriage only to pour her youth and beauty down the drain of an affair with a married man-or so her mother fears.

Desperate for some pleasure to look forward to, Enid has set her heart on an elusive goal: bringing her family together for one last Christmas at home.

Ratings (56)

Incredible (17)
Loved It (19)
Liked It (6)
It Was OK (6)
Did Not Like (7)
Hated It (1)

Reader Stats (88):

Read It (54)
Currently Reading (2)
Want To Read (26)
Did Not Finish (3)
Not Interested (3)

2 comment(s)

ColorfulLeo92

Did Not Like

2 months

2.5 stars. Enjoyed about half the book then the interest and focus on the story just disappeared

ehanut203

It Was OK

5 months

I can't decide if this is a great book or just an okay one. It was a struggle to get through the first hundred pages because Chip, the first main character we meet, is so detestable. And the next as well. And the next! They all hate each other, and passive-aggressively plot to undermine each other, and rationalize their horrid behavior.

Then I realized my family might not be entirely dissimilar.

Funny and tragic, and owing a bit to

Infinite Jest.

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About the Author:

Jonathan Franzen is the author of novels such as The Corrections (2001), Freedom (2010), and Crossroads (2021), and works of nonfiction, including Farther Away (2012) and The End of the End of the Earth (2018), all published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. He lives in Santa Cruz, California.

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The Corrections

Jonathan Franzen