Alicia here. I just finished reading The Corrections and it was pretty good. I think I'd recommend it to a friend. The story is about a series of characters who are connected in a dysfunctional family and follows the twists and turns of their sometimes tragic lives. One of them is a semi-famous chef, one is a success story/family-man, one of them is a deadbeat fired ex-professor and wannabe screenwriter, one is a dawdling old father and crappy husband quickly descending into an infantile dementia, and one is a sadly pathetic old mother putting up with her husband's nonsense and trying to make up for a life of non-fulfillment by pulling her whole family together for one last Christmas at the homestead as if to prove that maybe life isn't so loveless and forlorn (fat chance). The whole thing is really just a series of tragedies with a few farfetched, humorous episodes and characters interspersed, which I like because it adds contrast and makes the desperate seem that much More desperate.
Apparently, judging by the cover of the book, this was also an Oprah's Book Club Book, which I don't exactly understand. I know that Oprah tries to pick serious literature, but I just can't picture the Oprah audience enjoying something so DEPRESSING. But, she did also pick "A Million Little Pieces", so maybe I'm just totally misjudging the Oprah audience.
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Did you really think it was depressing? I thought it was mostly just fun and amusing. I chuckled to myself a few times, but never felt sad... It even had a happy ending (to me, at least)...
As far as Oprah goes, you should read Franzen's essay (in "How to be Alone") about what a fiasco it was when he expressed distaste for the type of book she usually selects. It was really interesting to hear his take on it, given how it got blown out of proportion in the media. So, in fact, The Corrections never really made it as a book club book (despite the logo on the cover of so many copies) because she suspended the club in response to his comments (after those copies were printed, which is when he said he didn't want that logo on his book for fear of the connotations of being an "Oprah book"). It was a big thing... ;-)
Also, if you want to talk depressing, Oprah actually selected The Road as a book club book as well, so she's not scared of books that are dark... I think it's a tricky balance trying to cater to what her demographic already likes while still trying to broaden their minds...
How funny. Nick just finished that book this weekend too. I read it last summer, and I was split on it. I really enjoyed the first two thirds of the book then some where towards the end it started to loose me.
I did just finish this book, too. Odd. I thought it was depressing also. It brings up the old question: "Can you like a book/movie if you don't like a single character?" The answer, apparently, is yes. I liked the book, overall. Franzen is a spectularly gifted writer. His characterization of midwesterners seems pretty true to my experience. A self-repressed older generation, whose kids can't seem to figure out where their own moral boundaries are. I just wish that there was somebody in that book you could really root for. I liked Chip and Denise alright, but ultimately they're pretty selfish people. I think it had really interesting insight into what constitutes "the norm," and what lies beneath the surface of normality.
I spoke with Stanley about starting an International Book Club Blog, but haven't gotten around to it. Let's use this opportunity to get it going!
I'm still totally missing the "depressing" thing... Maybe Stanley can back me up on this? or maybe I'm just weird... I have a theory that fans of the Southern Gothic genre and of Cormac McCarthy have a different idea of what's "depressing"... but it's entirely possible that I'm just a weirdo...
I agree that the characters weren't particularly likable, though I don't think we were supposed to like them. I'm a big fan of Franzen (he sort of blew my mind with his writing style in Strong Motion, and I've enjoyed reading his non-fiction essays as well) and I think it's pretty impressive that he can write characters whose stories are engaging despite the fact that we're not really rooting for them (because we don't really like them). Good times...
I guess I'm going to have to finish this one before I move on to David Mitchel's Ghostwritten in earnest. I don't find it particularly depressing just yet. I mean, I mostly agree with you guys about the lack of likable characters, and like Nik, I like Denise and Chip in spite of their flaws, but I find myself laughing out loud at most of it. For me, it's like saying The Royal Tannenbaums is a depressing movie. It's depressing, but in a funny way.
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