Freedom

This book is an intense pleasure to listen to, almost physically satisfying and one can only gawp at the deft brilliance of Franzen's writing. An absolute masterpiece, rendered even more poignant by David Ledoux's tour-de-force reading. His deliberately aggressive, at times sneering tone is just perfect for this text and I find I cannot bring myself to stop listening to it, even when there are other things I should be doing. Addictive novel, which captures the spirit of 21st century angst and makes us all wonder about how we use our relative, perceived freedom.

I enjoyed this very much - particularly the reading, but this is not as good as The Corrections. The characters were rather unsympathetic, and some - like the daughter were not explored at all.

Having tried The Corrections a few times and given up due to what I perceived as Franzen's overly-verbose style, I approached Freedom with some caution. I wanted, however, to give this author another chance. And I'm glad I did. What helped me get through it was Audible.

David Ledoux's narration deftly navigates Franzen's often serpentine prose, bringing clarity, providing emphasis in all the right places, and not once losing rhythm or sense throughout all those dependent clauses. He added just the right hint of Minnesota accent, kept his characterizations clear without over-doing them (except, perhaps, for the Indian Lalitha, whose voice verges on caricature, reminding me at times of Apu on The Simpsons).

Franzen's text is arch, funny, incisive and unforgiving, and hits the right notes of sympathy once or twice to give his characters heart, especially in the novel's final passage.

My main issue, and several reviewers have pointed this out, is that Patty's journal entries sound as if they were written, not by Patty, but by Franzen. At first I wondered why he simply hadn't written these sections as simple third-person narration. It becomes clear, plot-wise, why these parts have to be in a journal, but their similarity to Franzen's unique style suggests that, as an author, he has but one voice.

Otherwise, if you're looking for a good listen to a contemporary novelist with just the right mix of social satire, character depth and intellectual satisfaction, without overdoing any of them, you'll do well to give this book a listen.

please listen to this book.
the narration is wonderful and very entertaining but the writing is breath-taking. I can honestly say that this book struck many chords with me and was able to make me laugh and cry - a bit cliched, I know, but I am so glad I listened and I can't wait for my husband to read it so that I can discuss it with someone.
a wonderful story.

I don't understand why more people don't write like Franzen; portraying the struggles, frustrations and complications of everyday life that are right there in front of us. Like Frank Skinner sticking it to other songwriters ?Apparently there's a whole world out there somewhere. It's right there, right there?.

Maybe most people do read to escape but I just get frustrated with unrealistic fiction. If the characters and the world they live in aren?t real, I don?t care about anything else ...more I don't understand why more people don't write like Franzen; portraying the struggles, frustrations and complications of everyday life that are right there in front of us. Like Frank Skinner sticking it to other songwriters ?Apparently there's a whole world out there somewhere. It's right there, right there?.

Maybe most people do read to escape but I just get frustrated with unrealistic fiction. If the characters and the world they live in aren?t real, I don?t care about anything else in the book. Apart from deliberate surrealism of course. Maybe it?s because you?d really have to put so much of yourself and your loved ones in there to render such well drawn characters. Is that what makes it so hard for other writers?

So I loved Freedom. I was really looking forward to it and it lived up to expectations and ticked all my authenticity boxes. I was always dying to get back to it and see what everyone was up to and spend some more time in their company. Not that I necessarily liked them. They all had likable and dis-likable traits, which in itself is just another healthy dose of reality.

This is a tale of modern living, all the good, bad and ugly bits. I didn't entirely like any of the characters and thought they often needed a good slap, a shaking, or a kick up the behind. Because I couldn't engage properly with any of them, their traumas left me unmoved. Strangely, though, I couldn't stop listening as there was lots of interest in their lives, taking in politics, environmental issues, sex, money and so on. Much of it is drolly amusing, some bits are laugh-out-loud funny, and the reader brilliantly sustains the huge cast of characters through the many hours of this saga.

Freedom was an enjoyable journey. The storyline captured my interest well and the narrator did an excellent job.

That this is a good book does not need saying. The positive review are well-deserved. What strikes me is the narration - David Ledoux doesn't have an annoying voice, doesn't speak too slowly, doesn't get in the way of the story he's telling, nor does he sound like he's trying to put me to sleep. This deserves your monthly credit.

Franzen is still sharp and presents a very real and unbelievably opressiong picture of American life. Though less depressing than in the Corrections.
Wonderfully read. Not for a minute boring!

Despite the hype that surrounded the release of this book over the past few weeks, I found there was little to get excited about. What Freedom falls down to is simply an un-extraordinary suburban chronicle of ordinary lives free from insight or real meaning. Whilst much has been made of the unappealing characters, it is the limited number of choices that they make and the lack of any real depth to the interminable ?he said, she said,? which killed off my interest about half way through. In wonderful East Coast company - Donna Tartt, Junot Diaz, John Updike - Franzen has the material on which to zeitgeist-up the GeorgeW-Gen, but no we get a rehashing on the post hippy, post 70?s mourning for the new that we knew. That far in, you grit your teeth and determine to stick it out for the big finish and then, guess what.....?