Freedom

Summary (from the publisher): In his first novel since The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen has given us an epic of contemporary love and marriage. Freedom comically and tragically captures the temptations and burdens of liberty: the thrills of teenage lust, the shaken compromises of middle age, the wages of suburban sprawl, the heavy weight of empire. In charting the mistakes and joys of Walter and Patty Berglund as they struggle to learn how to live in an ever more confusing world, Franzen has produced an indelible and deeply moving portrait of our time.

Review: This epic captures the highs and lows of modern day marriage. Patty Berglund is a college basketball star in Minnesota, where she has fled from her family from whom she feels distant and an outsider. There she meets Walter, who is, above all things, good. Although she is attracted to his musician roommate Richard, it's Walter who she ends up marrying. While their early marriage is largely fulfilling, it becomes increasingly a struggle as both Patty and Walter grow in different directions and Patty feels ever more lost and discontented with the path her life has taken. 

At its heart, this novel is the story of a marriage and, by extension, a family. But it also sheds light on the burden of life with great liberty. Walter and Patty have the freedom to make their own choices, which often end up making them deeply unhappy. Free will is not a recipe for happiness. Along the way, this novel also provides commentary on a variety of themes including the mistakes made while parenting, friendship, the value of living an ethical and good life, the need for more extreme environmental protection actions, and the enduring quality of love. 

I enjoyed this novel significantly better than Franzen's earlier work, The Corrections. The characters were more likeable and the plot more believable. Yet he remains an exceedingly long winded writer. This novel was a couple hundred pages longer than was really necessary. Ultimately an interesting look at the increasing complexity of modern day life that could have been condensed.

Stars: 3

Related Title: 

• The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen