FREEDOM, by Jonathan Franzen

Freedom is a deep, exhausting and impressive book centered on a dysfunctional American family, Patty & Walter Berglund, their parents, and children. By means of the interesting technique of a third-person autobiographical narrative written presumably as therapy for Patty's depression, the reader learns about the roots of her personality and about events hidden in the main narrative. The story complexly shifts among narratives of Patty, Walter, Richard Katz ( Walter's best friend who is a rock musician playing out a curious blend of loyalty & betrayal to Walter), Joey (W & P's son, who is the apple of Patty's eye) and his wife Connie (daughter of the Berglund's redneck neighbors in St. Paul, MN). A love triangle predominates the story - between Patty, Walter & Richard. There are two other love triangles in the plot. The story, set in the 1990s and very early 21st Century, is told with a great deal of heart yet avoids sentimentalism. It's an impressive novel indeed.

For a review of the book from NY Times, click here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/29/books/review/Tanenhaus-t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

SO MUCH FOR THAT, by Lionel Shriver

So Much for That takes us on a powerful and devastatingly emotional ride. Published in 2010, The story is about a man, Shep Knacker, who is fed up with pursuing the American Dream and has a dream of his own: to escape to a fantasy "afterlife" of ease in an exotic paradise. His elaborate but un-acted-upon plans are thwarted by the reality of a diagnosis in his wife, Glynis, of a very rare and deadly form of cancer. The story shows the playing out of this rather depressing reality, but there are interesting and moving twists and much uncertainty about the details of how it will all end. Embedded in the main narrative is the story of another disaffected American family, that of Shep's co-worker and long-time friend who has a disabled daughter and serious self-esteem problems. The novel is full of rage and focuses on how terminal illness can affect a relationship. It's also about hope, despair, pride, love, etc. All-in-all, it's a strong narrative about a profound topic: what does it mean to live and die with dignity?


for a review of the novel from the Guardian, click here: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/mar/28/lionel-shriver-so-much-for-that