Full disclosure, I'm not a big Franzen fan. I enjoyed The Corrections but it wasn't a top five for me that year. I think he can be pretentious and very self-aware, and Purity seems to reflect that for me. Lots of lots of pages here, embellishing what is essentially a romance novel plot about Purity discovering the truth about herself. I just felt like the book kept yelling at me, saying "take me seriously!!" Sorry, but I can't go to that level.