This book. It was just so close to being great, like really, really almost. But I've never read a novel cast entirely with such unconvincing characters. Unlike in The Corrections, or even Freedom, whose characters are assholes behaving badly...and yet you felt empathy and rooted for them anyway. Not one person in Purity elicited even a shred of empathy and I think it is because they all were such farcical caricatures scratching at the surface of being interesting. And if you're not distracted by your connection to the characters, you might notice that the plot is also lacking. This book was written as if Franzen's heart just wasn't in it. If he weren't so famous already, a tough editor could have probably helped transform it into something better. Or just maybe not publish it at all. I felt disappointed and annoyed all the way through.