WaPo Video review of Jonathan Franzen's Freedom

If you think I'm wrong when I say that Freedom by Jonathan Franzen is released today, it's because you've been hearing far too much about it already. Somebody's marketing department needs to learn about over-hype and literary fatigue. The backlash has started already. But, seriously, today is only the beginning.


I don't just dislike Franzen's novels, I dislike the man. It's not that he spurned Oprah. It's that he said ok to being her book selection so he could sell millions of copies but then refused to be on the show. If you don't like the whiff of mainstream popularity, don't steal its money and head for the hills. Also, I'm just not in the mood to read another book about middle-class white men and their existential crises. Poor white men, my heart aches for them.


Below is a mixed review which sounds about right. Sounds very much like The Corrections.


See ya. I've got some fun books to read.