Comments on: Freedom Ain’t So Great: Why Franzen’s No Genius

By: Lisa Duggan

Lisa Duggan — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 19:04:14 +0000

Maybe it’s the masterwork a lazy, mediocre country earns.

By: maurizio

maurizio — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 19:09:47 +0000

Although, I enjoyed the book more than you by the sounds of it, your comments are spot on. It’s no masterwork. (But Frantzen did prompt me, on both occasions, to put War and Peace in my reading queue.)

By: John B

John B — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 02:19:54 +0000

I was curious to see what you thought as well, after seeing some of your reactions on Twitter. I guess I’ll hold off on reading it until it’s available in paperback, or maybe second-hand paperback, (also, my neighbour tried to recycle a ton of classics recently, which I rescued and haven’t read yet).

By: Hugh

Hugh — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 01:07:32 +0000

It wasn’t terrible, and I enjoyed parts of it.

I just can’t understand the Genius reviews, unless:
a) there’s payola
or
b) I have an outdated understanding of what Genius should be in a book.

By: Michael

Michael — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 23:03:02 +0000

I have a weakness for wanting to read books that I may feel like throwing across the room… so now I definitely will read Freedom now! Hmmm, Kindle reader or iBook???

By: Martine

Martine — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 22:30:21 +0000

I was curious to see what your conclusion would be as I followed your growing impatience with the book on Twitter. Guess it didn’t get better for you, did it? ;) Seems like I enjoyed it more than you did, though just like you, I can’t quite understand how the book managed to get so much praize. My biggest problem was the Patty character. She’s an American sport jock, a bit naive,very confused, and then she writes this articulate, somewhat intellectual autobiography. That part, by the way, was also my favorite part of the book. Good sense of humour and irony along with some emotional truth. I’m also a sucker for a good love triangle – my master’s thesis was around that subject (in film) – and I thought this was the most interesting and honest part about the book. I found my sympathy to be switching constantly between the 3 characters at different times, which I’m sure is what Franzen intended.

Earlier in 2010, I read a book of his essays and I preferred it to the novel. You might appreciate his non fiction more than his novels.

By: Tweets that mention Freedom Ainâ€™t So Great: Why Franzenâ€™s No Genius : Hugh McGuire -- Topsy.com

Fri, 07 Jan 2011 21:38:26 +0000

[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Hugh McGuire. Hugh McGuire said: Here's what I thought of Franzen's "Freedom" https://hughmcguire.net/2011/01/07/freedom-aint-so-great-why-franzens-no-genius/ @chriskubica […]