The last few months have presented a variety of opportunities, challenges, distractions, and diversions for me. I let all of these get in the way of my blog writing, and getting back in that groove continues to prove tricky for me. Yet, I did want to share my new Publishers Weekly audio book review of Purity by Jonathan Franzen.
I must confess that, until that assignment came along, I had not read any of Franzen’s works. I have always read actively and possessed eclectic tastes in both nonfiction and fiction, but somehow, especially when it comes to novels, I have found myself concentrating on authors who were kinda sorta highbrow but avoiding the most serious literary names that I figured were a bit too big for their britches to actually be entertaining. Franzen fit this description, mostly because I had remembered him seeming a bit arrogant and condescending when Oprah first started pushing his books on her show. (In the interest of fairness, I will point out that the two eventually patched things up and got on the same page, pardon the pun.)
So, I wasn’t prepared to be blown away by a writer as artsy as Franzen, but that’s exactly what happened. He creates complicated Webs in his writing, but somehow the details are so relevant and compelling that I don’t mind sticking with him. I become absorbed in the storytelling and don’t worry about the fact that there are so many characters and settings; it all flows together, even when it seems like the sort of undertaking that shouldn’t feel that smooth.
So, I am now reading the written version of Freedom, another Franzen title. So far so good, but I will need to dig further into the action before I can make a judgment. In the meantime, I can say that Purity delivers the goods, so if you see me reading Jonathan Franzen, I am not doing so because it makes me look intellectual. I think I have actually found another writer who has created journeys on which I want to travel.
Coloring Outside the Lines 