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‘Freedom’ – My First Frazen (Book Review)

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‘Freedom’ – My First Frazen (Book Review)Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
Also by this author: Purity
Published by Macmillan, Picador on January 2010
Genres/Lists: Fiction, 1001 Books
Pages: 576
Read synopsis on Goodreads
Buy the book: Amazon/Audible (this post includes affiliate links) four-stars


Before I even begin to review this book, let me preface it with the fact that I don’t know much about Jonathan Franzen other than he can be controversial. I had been warned by many that they dislike the authors so much that they can’t or won’t read the book, but I had no such scruples and am glad I didn’t bother to do any research before starting Freedom because I absolutely loved it.

The book, in a nutshell, is about a socially conscious set of parents and their two children, who, by all appearances, live a pretty idyllic life, at least until a series of events catapult them into a new life. Distanced from their son, socially awkward with their daughter, and reliant on the reliability of their relationship so far, Walter and Patty Berglund enter middle age with not a clue as to how they got there or where they are going. The best way I can describe them is to compare the family to a delicate piece of china that begins to fracture and fall apart after a cumulation of dings that were overlooked at the time that they occurred. Freedom tells the story of this disintegration, starting with Patty (the jock) and Walter’s (the nerd) childhoods and straight through to middle age.

Freedom reminds me a lot of The Casual Vacancy (read my review) because it relies on the intricacies of social propriety and duty while simultaneously peeking under the covers to see the human indecencies that are better left tucked away. It’s not a happy story, in fact it’s rather depressing in its realism, but it’s a pretty plausible story about the unexpected ways life can unfold as a result of previous decisions and hidden desires. My only complaint is that Patty became almost unbearable towards the end and I started to lose interest in her, which I believe detracted from the ending’s overall impact on me.

Recommended for: Fans of complex family dynamics and how they play out over time. It’s long, wordy, heavy, and fantastic – if you like that sort of thing.

Are you a Franzen fan? Tell us in the comments!

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  • I find Franzen kind of insufferable, so I have been avoiding his books, even though The Corrections has been on my shelf for years. It’s not fair at all, but I’m a little bit afraid that I’m going to read his work, think he’s brilliant… and still find him obnoxious as a person.

  • I’m glad this one worked for you!

  • I read The Corrections even before he began acting like such an asshat so I can say that I don’t care for his work. Period. I feel as if his portrayals of women are so limited and unflattering- not that they have to be great but they’re out of kilter with the rest of the story- if that makes sense.

    I do love your characterization of the family as a piece of china- perfect analogy.

    • Thank you 🙂 I can see where you’re coming from – I wonder if that’s a theme throughout his books or just this one? I did get a bit sick of Patty by the end of this one.

  • I agree with Tanya, I don’t like him, but I like to watch his antics from the sidelines. I didn’t like this one enough to ever bother with another Franzen, but I’m glad you did!

  • Melanie Page

    Franzen is successful, yet he did not attend a writing program. From what I see, it seems like non-successful writers are bitter, especially those who come out of writing programs (I come out of an MFA program; I see why they would get their feathers ruffled). Like maybe Franzen had it easy, or something. Just my two cents!

    • That’s interesting! I didn’t know that. That’s too bad if that’s the case, but then again maybe he had it harder BECAUSE he didn’t have that training? Either way, I liked the book.

  • Mary C.

    Maybe he hits too close to home for some. 🙂

    • Maybe! He’s on the 1001 Books to Read list for a reason!

  • Jennine G.

    I don’t think I’ve read anything of his! I will have to look into some books to see what all the controversy is about!

    • I don’t think the controversy is with his books so much as his personal opinions on things like Twitter.

      • Jennine G.

        Oh well, I don’t believe in throwing the baby out with the bath water, so to speak. If his books are good, they’re good! I mean, if I don’t want to give him my money, there’s the library 😉 lol!

      • Jennine G.

        And after reading other comments, maybe I’ll read one of his books before checking into him!

  • Franzen is controversial, but I like really like both Freedom and The Corrections. I know I will read his next novel too. He can be a pompous ass, but it’s fun to sit on the sidelines and watch that too.

    • I can’t wait to read The Corrections – I already have it. I do find him amusing but perhaps that’s because I haven’t paid much attention to him and his drama.

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