Freedom - Jonathan Franzen (Audio)

OK, I am finally biting the bullet. I am FORCING myself to sit down and write something about this book. Because sometimes books are too big for words. They cover too much territory, too much human emotion, too much ugliness, too many messages, to really get the point across.

Years ago, I read The Corrections. A friend loaned it to me, stating that he "couldn't get through it, so good luck". Just to prove my super-woman tenacity, I slogged through it. I hated it. The characters were miserable and obnoxious. Then I finished it. Then I decided I really did like it.

So when Freedom was released, I was mildly interested. But it was long, and Oprah endorsed it, everybody and their brother was talking about it, and when my book club discussed reading it, I voted NO. I can be bitchy that way. But then there was a mix-up, and somehow it was published in our country club newsletter that we were reading Freedom for February, and our hand was forced. Now my dander was really up. OK FINE! IF I HAVE TO! I embarked on 19 discs of audio.

Synopsis: At the heart of the novel is the seemingly All-American Berglund family...Walter and Patty, and their two kids Joey and Jessica, living in a big house in St. Paul MN. Walter is the do-gooder, environmental-loving lawyer, Patty the pretty, athletic stay-at-home mom, with two perfect over-achieving children. At the beginning of the story, we get an outsider's perspective of the family from a few jealous neighbors' narratives, then we dive in - hold your breath! It's deep and murky! Walter, Patty and Joey (and a few other main characters) all take turns narrating personal thoughts and events in their past, what made them the people they are, and the nitty gritty of what is really happening in their twisted, miserable lives. Drugs and alcohol abuse, manipulation, adultery, kinky sex, lying, cheating, stealing, rape, and any other type of depravity you can think of. What this all amounts to is a thorough character study on each narrator, from childhood on. So thorough, you know it like your own story after it is all over and done with. And what we learn isn't necessarily likable, but human and real and exposed.

But there is so much more than "just" family dysfunction (that is a real big fat juicy "just"). Big issues such as over-population and the pressure on finite resources, raping our natural environment for political gain, the ethical dilemmas of capitalism in Iraq, and the rapid-fire information overload and instantaneous gratification that our culture has become. For a side tour, Franzen delves into the business of rock 'n roll, and liberally peppers his prose with lots of pop culture, showing us he is hip to Bright Eyes and Donnie Darko. It seems that Franzen has alot on his mind, and he has thrown it all at us. Whether it was intended to hit us in the head and incite an epiphany, or simply draw blood, I'm not sure.

My thoughts: Most of humanity fell in love with this book, but I was not one of them. I was highly entertained, in a way that it is entertaining to watch the freakshows that go on Doctor Phil and have their frailties laid out for all to see. The characters in this book are not caricatures. They feel as real as you or I. But they are damaged, unhappy people, angry at each other, life and society in general. Franzen's prose also comes across as sarcastic and generally negative. Then there is all that sex, which I thought added nothing but a layer of skeez. As easy as it was to listen to all of this, I often felt like I needed to take a shower (no, I didn't need a cold shower, I just needed to rid myself of the mental slime).

But then, after 18 discs of rolling around in the muck, getting it in my ears and eyes and mouth, it was like the whole book took a Prozac, and for the last disc, the plot gently floated in a dreamy fog off stage left. OK, well, that is nice. But it was a confusing shift in mood, and it left me unsettled. You mean they didn't all self-destruct in the end? I kinda wanted to see them all locked up in a room together to see who would come out alive.

As grumpy as this all sounds, I tip my hat to Franzen and all of his cleverness. The theme of "freedom" is deftly woven into every nook and cranny. Whether it is freedom from the confines of marriage and kids, freedom of expression, freedom from parental control, or freedom of songbirds to exist without the fear of being eaten by kitty cats. In the search for the ever-alluring freedom, however, the characters find that perhaps it isn't all its cracked up to be, or even that its existence is just an illusion.

As brilliant as Franzen may be, however, I thought it was a shame he wasted it on such misery. I likened it to Picasso drawing cheesy charicatures at a street fair, or painting women's boobs at a strip club.

A word about the audio production: Whatever my gripes for the book, the narrator, David LeDoux, was spectacular. David is a new-to-me voice, but in a quick glance, I see he has also narrated "Water For Elephants" by Sarah Gruen and "Shiver" by Maggie Stiefvater, just to name a couple. His voice was authentic and unforced, and captured nuances of the various personalities of the characters perfectly. This is a narrator I'd listen to again without hesitation.

Opinions from the Heathrow Literary Society: We had eleven member attend this meeting, and two people admitted to liking it. One member said she liked it fine until she saw interviews with Franzen, and then was turned off. One member said there was nothing redeeming in this book whatsoever, and her husband, who had to endure the audiobook with her on a trip, thought she was insane for finishing it. The rest of us didn't feel it was worth the effort, and would not recommend the book. We decided that Franzen is probably not a very happy person. On the bright side, it was probably the liviest discussions yet.


3 out of 5 stars