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Hanneke's Reviews > Purity
Purity
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I thought both The Corrections and Freedom were terrific books and Franzen a world class author. I still find him a fabulous writer but, really, what is Purity all about? I have no idea what the point of the book was. I am not saying there should always be a clear point in a book, but this was getting really tedious. I even don't get why one of the main characters had to be a East-German, as his story might as well have occured somewhere else. Well, might have made the man more mysterious and cosmopolitan, I assume. I gave the book 3 stars, one star for creating one of the most obnoxious and irritating women I have ever encountered in a book. He did an amazing job in that respect.
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Reading Progress
November 9, 2015
– Shelved
November 9, 2015
– Shelved as:
to-read
June 4, 2016
–
Started Reading
July 17, 2016
–
60.57%
"I am really luke-warm about this book. It is a bad sign that I keep reading and finishing other books, while I really should try to keep on going with this one. It is time I finish it."
page
341
July 20, 2016
–
68.03%
"'My baby face was a sore subject. My freshman roommate had suggested that I age myself by manufacturing a dueling scar in the nineteenth-century manner, by cutting myself with a saber and laying a hair in the cut to keep it from healing cleanly. I believed my face to be the main reason why, although I was good at befriending women, I wasn’t having sex with any of them."
page
383
August 16, 2016
–
Finished Reading
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Aug 17, 2016 04:32AM
Hanneke, if you couldn't detect a point, then there probably isn't one.
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Karen, I hope so, I would hate to be a total ignoramus!
I don't think you have much to fear in that direction!
I am relieved to hear it, Karen!
"I even don't get why one of the main characters had to be a East-German, as his story might as well have occured somewhere else." - exactly!!
Good to hear you agree, Leo! Thinking back on the book, I have a strong suspicion that Franzen decided that it would be a nice change to see how far he could irritate his readers. Perhaps that's why there was not a single character to (even partially) like. Especially the women were pretty gruesome! Well, perhaps Pip was slightly nice, but not that I felt very interested in her quest.
it's mysterious, how much and why Franzen irritates his readers. By the end of the book I was ready to punch him. I think it is because he drags you through hundreds of pages (interspected with bits of brilliant writing , I admit), but you keep asking yourself WHY? Why am I following him when HE doesn't even like his own characters? it's all told from such an icy distance and one feels why I should I care if he's so smug and condescendant to begin with?
Yes, exactly my feelings about it, Francesca. Hundreds of pages of plowing through the nauseating fights of Tom and his totally cuckoo wife want you to punch them both (yes! Throw her out of the window, why don't you?) and their creator too. What is the purpose of those hundreds of pages and why did he do that to his readers? I agree you do find some bits and pieces of brilliant writing here and there. As you said, it is obvious he does not like any of his characters and who would? Is he saying goodbye to us all? Bye, my readers, here's a book I made sure you will not enjoy?
I've wondered about reading Franzen. Where should I start?
I thought The Corrections and Freedom are great, Erwin! What a nice picture of you and your son by the way!
Yes Erwin, I agree with hanneke. I loved both the Corrections and freedom. The Corrections is a painful book, it concerns aging parents, death, family. Freedom is not as hurtful, it's about a younger couple. Both are engaging and SO clever. . It depends on the mood you are in.
Yes, The Corrections was a real masterpiece, I thought. I loved Freedom too, indeed very clever and also quite witty, I thought. Lots of people did not like Freedom very much, but I really enjoyed it. Perhaps because the characters were so very familiar to me.
Great review Hans. I've read both Freedom and The Corrections also, which I really liked. I have this one, but with so many others, think it's going on the bottom of the pile. Thank you :)
Thanks, Debs! Well, perhaps you could someday be in the mood to be introduced to really annoying women!
Hanneke wrote: "Thanks, Debs! Well, perhaps you could someday be in the mood to be introduced to really annoying women!"Well doesn't that sound like fun. Haha!
