Members Lucky Posted October 14, 2010 Members Posted October 14, 2010 Jonathan Franzen didn't even get nominated for his novel Freedom by the National Book Award Committee. He won the award 9 years ago or his novel The Corrections, and the latest is getting great reviews and was picked by Oprah Winfrey for her viewers to all read. I only noticed this because I am at the moment just about finishing up Freedom and like it a lot. It has scathing commentary on today's society and politics, so if you like fiction, then this book might be for you, despite the stupid award committee! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/13/jonathan-franzen-snubbed-national-book-award_n_761159.html Quote
Guest zipperzone Posted October 14, 2010 Posted October 14, 2010 Sorry Lucky but you lost me when you said Oprah recommends it. Quote
Members Lucky Posted October 14, 2010 Author Members Posted October 14, 2010 Sorry Lucky but you lost me when you said Oprah recommends it. Well, she was supposed to use his first book 9 years ago and then dumped it, so it was something when she picked this one. I wouldn't have picked it because of her either. It got such good reviews, so I decided to read it, and have now finished it. It's a masterpiece, just a brilliant look at society today and the perils facing the human race, all told in a story about one extended family over the years. Quote
Guest zipperzone Posted October 14, 2010 Posted October 14, 2010 Well, she was supposed to use his first book 9 years ago and then dumped it, so it was something when she picked this one. I wouldn't have picked it because of her either. It got such good reviews, so I decided to read it, and have now finished it. It's a masterpiece, just a brilliant look at society today and the perils facing the human race, all told in a story about one extended family over the years. Sounds like an interesting read and I will give it a try. Re Oprah's book club - I am so anti-Opera that just the sound of her name makes me want to hurl. Quote
Members Lucky Posted October 14, 2010 Author Members Posted October 14, 2010 Sounds like an interesting read and I will give it a try. Re Oprah's book club - I am so anti-Opera that just the sound of her name makes me want to hurl. Her name does not come up even once in the book! I'd be glad to know if you liked the book as much as I did. Quote
Members Lucky Posted October 16, 2010 Author Members Posted October 16, 2010 Surely another thread about a book would sink quickly, so I will use this one twice. Phillip Roth has a new novel, NEMESIS, about a polio epidemic in 1944. The war is going on when suddenly young people throughout Newark are hit by polio, and the Jewish neighborhood is hit hardest. It reads nothing like you would expect having lived through the AIDS epidemic. It educates, infuriates, and occasionally entertains, but polio was not AIDS and the things that happen, and the fact that they mostly happen to young children, make for a different story. Roth's main character is very likable, at least until he isn't, but by then you will find yourself pretty infuriated with the real Nemesis of the book, God. Like Freedom, this book contains some scathing observations on life, love, and religion, all of which I heartily enjoyed. Quote
Guest NeedSome Posted October 16, 2010 Posted October 16, 2010 Well, she was supposed to use his first book 9 years ago and then dumped it, so it was something when she picked this one. I wouldn't have picked it because of her either. It got such good reviews, so I decided to read it, and have now finished it. It's a masterpiece, just a brilliant look at society today and the perils facing the human race, all told in a story about one extended family over the years. Lucky, I thought that when she picked the corrections all those years ago it was Franzen who said, thanks but no thanks. I don't think it was Oprah who dumped it, but I could be remembering incorrectly. Kind of a stupid move on his part, in my opinion. Quote
Members Lucky Posted October 16, 2010 Author Members Posted October 16, 2010 Lucky, I thought that when she picked the corrections all those years ago it was Franzen who said, thanks but no thanks. I don't think it was Oprah who dumped it, but I could be remembering incorrectly. Kind of a stupid move on his part, in my opinion. You might be right. I seem to recollect it that way too, but then read something about her dumping him and went with it without checking further. Did you read The Corrections? I didn't, so wonder what you thought of it. Quote
Guest NeedSome Posted October 17, 2010 Posted October 17, 2010 You might be right. I seem to recollect it that way too, but then read something about her dumping him and went with it without checking further. Did you read The Corrections? I didn't, so wonder what you thought of it. I did read it but honestly don't really remember it all that much. I recall thinking that it was ok but the characters were annoying, the story was somewhat overwrought, and the overall tone and prose were pretentious. Like he was writing it thinking "everyone will read this and be amazed at how clever I am." For some reasons, it seems that I have some sort of head trauma in terms of reading retention, as I hardly ever remember much of the novels I read. For historical, biography, and other non fiction I seem to be fine, but novels just don't stick with me. Or maybe it's just some senior moments creeping in. Quote
Members Lucky Posted October 17, 2010 Author Members Posted October 17, 2010 NeedSome, thank you so much for sharing that you often don't remember novels! I just read one that it turns out I had read before, and nothing in it rang a bell. It was really good though. I guess if we rad for entertainment we don't retain as much as if we read to learn something. Quote
