Purity By Jonathan Franzen

The good parts in this novel are amazing and the bad parts are just bland and boring. I cared for some characters more than others. I didn’t care for reading about the story of how Tom’s parents met! (it has nothing to do with the story).
It’s tough. It’s really a collection of interleaved novels, some I cared for and some I didn’t. I listed to this novel (audible). I hated the narration of Dylan Baker (I didn’t mind Steve Jobs or Flash Boys) so I feel like it affected how I liked those parts.




Plot ** SPOILERS AHEAD **

The first part started with the story of Pip Tyler. Pip lives in Oakland with a student debt and no career prospects. Her mother lives in a cabin and is very protective of her and didn’t tell Pip anything about her past or who Pip’s father was. Pip wants to know who her father is so that maybe he can help with paying for her student debt. Pip meets Annagret who was trying to recruit her to be an intern in the Sun Light project in Bolivia. Annagret takes a lot of interest in trying to convince Pip to join it.

The second part was about the stories of Andreas Wolf in East Germany. Andreas and his mother have a complex relationship. Andreas ends up leaving home and staying in a church basement. Andreas meets Annagret who was coming to church complaining about her step dad sexually abusing her. They both kill the step father. Two years later the Berlin Wall comes down. His father arranges for him to get his files from the Stasi. On the day of getting those files, he runs into television recording outside and becomes an instant celebrity after opposing the Stasi on camera. In the last scene Andreas meets an American journalist and confesses everything to him.

The third part started with the story of Leila Helou, a journalist in Denver working for Tom Aberrant and also dating him. A little introduction to Leila’s life where she comes from and how she married her husband Charles who later becomes paraplegic after an accident. Pip ends up working as an intern for Leila and Tom as an intern. She also starts liking Leila a lot and Leila too starts to like Pip a lot. She moves in with Tom and Leila but Leila starts getting jealous after that. Tom discovers later from talking to Pip that Pip is actually his daughter. He also reveals that his ex-wife has a billion dollar trust who disappeared just to torture him.

The forth part switched back to Pip in Bolivia starting her internship with Andreas Wolf. Pip gets to meet a lot of ambitious and highly attractive girls working for Andreas. Pip also has a couple of sexual encounters with Andreas. She was the starter for both encounters and it moves Andreas a lot and he thinks that she is the one he was always waiting for all his life. After six months, Wolf sends her to Denver to spy on Tom Aberrant. He convinces her to go and promises her to find her father for her in return.

The fifth part goes back to Pip enjoying in Denver and loving Leila and Tom. She regrets spying on Tom and Tom actually figures out eventually what she was doing. She confesses her crime.

The sixth part goes back to the story of Tom’s parents, how his dad met his mother in East Germany and how his dad was really adventures. It also tells the story of how Tom met Annabel, Pip’s mother, an art student at the time. Tom marries Annabel but they never get to have a happy marriage because of all the rules that Annabel makes. Annabel also is extremely rich but hates her dad and refuses to accept any money from him. Tom goes back to East Germany and there he meets Andreas. They soon become close. Tom helps Andreas rebury the body. Tom goes back to the United States and divorces Annabel. Annabel disappears after the divorce.

This part goes back to Andreas and Annagret meeting together after the Berlin Wall came down. The eventually break up after Annagret becoming too close to his mom. Andreas and his mom’s relation is as complex as it always was. Andreas thinks Tom had betrayed him seeing what Leila wrote about him. He seeks revenge by trying to find relevant information about Tom. He discovers the ex-wife, the daughter and the trust fund. He thinks that the trust fund could be great for the project. He convinces Annagret to recruit Pip for him.

In this part Tom goes to see Andreas. Wolf sends all the information he has on Tom (his secret memoir to Pip). Wolf leads Tom to a high cliff and then reveals what he did to Pip. He asks Tom to push him off the cliff. Tom doesn’t so Andreas decides to jump himself.

In the last part Pip tells her mom what she knows. She tries to convince her mom of taking at least some of the money. She also arranges for her mom to meet with Tom again. They meet and all she can hear outside the door was their fighting together.

"Great Expectations." That's what I had for this book. As some people know, I abandoned it briefly and then took it up again.

I wonder if Franzen read "The Goldfinch" before he wrote this. There are lots of parallels: a mystery, Dickens references, etc. The mystery kept me going, plus the thought that there might be something like the brilliant thread that kept me going through "Freedom:" which is more important--our individuality and freedom to make choices, or the greater good of a society? Songbirds, or cats able to wander outdoors?

Meh. Didn't like any of the characters or even find them interesting; they seemed flat. Ending was so boring after the "mystery" was solved. Not a lot of insight into the world of internet hacking/spying/global surveillance. Super disturbing passages involving gruesome stuff made me not want to read this at night. If you're going to disturb me, say something interesting!

I really wanted to like this book. I was drawn into the story in the beginning, but as the book dragged on, I lost interest and grew bored with the story. As other reviewers have noted, the makings of a good novel are to be had in this book. But a substantial edit needs to be done for that story to fully emerge.

I really enjoyed this book up until the last 100 pages or so. At a certain point it’s like I no longer care about Andreas Wolf and how he is in love with his mother and it’s the root of all his problems and wished it would just move a little faster.

Franzen's ode to love in all its forms resonated deeply with me. It's far-reaching and complex and wildly insightful. Wrapped in a globe-crossing tale about a Julian-Assange-like character is a study on what we owe and do not owe those we love, what we are willing to lie about and withhold to keep them, and how little we can know about those closest to us. Almost spiritual in its punch, Purity is highly recommended.

Engrossing, but one point off for the misogyny of his world view.