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ericfheiman's review against another edition
3.0
Starting with The Corrections through Freedom and now Purity, Jonathan Franzen's ambition has continued to grow—at least in terms of the narrative canvas and palette of ideas he's exploring.
Alas, the formidable heft and scope of Purity seem to have gotten away from him and the book doesn't deliver the same seductive cocktail of story, style and intellectual provocations of his previous two novels. The writing is more pedestrian, to start, and the Luddite crankiness around the internet and social media that has littered his recent nonfiction writing and commentary undermines the book's believability, while the characters feel underdeveloped, more symbols than flesh and blood.
Of course, Franzen still spins a good yarn and the book is compulsively readable. But Purity doesn't really stick with you the way his previous two novels did.
Alas, the formidable heft and scope of Purity seem to have gotten away from him and the book doesn't deliver the same seductive cocktail of story, style and intellectual provocations of his previous two novels. The writing is more pedestrian, to start, and the Luddite crankiness around the internet and social media that has littered his recent nonfiction writing and commentary undermines the book's believability, while the characters feel underdeveloped, more symbols than flesh and blood.
Of course, Franzen still spins a good yarn and the book is compulsively readable. But Purity doesn't really stick with you the way his previous two novels did.
l3nab's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
jbzar's review against another edition
4.0
I read a number of the reviews about this book after I'd gotten 3/4 of the way through it. I was surprised by the range of emotions that the reviews reflected. In short, it strikes that one either really likes this book or can't stand it. Put me in the former group. It's the first Franzen book for me and that may have helped my opinion of it. I also don't know anything about the author's politics. That said, I like the way he centered the story around Purity and built immense subplots focused on the various characters who ultimately proved to have significant involvement in her life.
ekfletcher's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
mastben11's review against another edition
3.0
Despite the author being, from what I've gathered from pieces by journalists who have met and written about him, rather off-putting, Franzen's 'Freedom' and 'The Corrections' remain two of my favorite novels ever. 'Purity' fell short of the genius I felt I witnessed in these earlier works. The titular character was intriguing to me, and I would have preferred it if she figured more prominently in the entire novel, instead of bookending the narrative while a mess of supporting characters in various stages of dissatisfied living filled the middle. Maybe the character of Andreas is what dragged the whole thing down for me, though I can't easily say why. I'd recommend the first hundred pages but not much beyond.
thebookhoundchronicles's review against another edition
2.0
Flipping between past and present, different character viewpoint, and storylines made Purity a challenging read. The seedling story at the novel's core has potential, but trying to flesh that story out and discern the truly relevant information/details from the verbose stories of the subsequent characters leaves the reader feeling spent and the novel's content dark and heavy.
rooafza's review against another edition
3.0
Very zeitgeisty novel which works against it in this instance. Also the misogyny starts to become apparent.
chughes120's review against another edition
5.0
I do love me some Jonathan Franzen. It was a little bit too literal at times and the good/bad dichotomy of some of the characters wasn't as well balanced as in his other books, so I'd put it behind The Corrections, but I still loved it.
schray32's review against another edition
4.0
I love Jonathan Franzen. This is another big book by him that some people will say is too long. I feel like he does a great job of getting into the human head....albeit mostly twisted human beings. It is complicated but I enjoy the ride and stayed up till 1am to finish.
Pip Tyler is a girl I rooted for and was very happy with the ending.
Pip Tyler is a girl I rooted for and was very happy with the ending.