Well, that was overrated. don't get me wrong--it was mostly enjoyable, and mostly an interesting novel, but it is not the best book I've ever read (not even close), and I think the Times' declaration that it's "A masterpiece of American fiction" is just wrong.
This book took forever to read. It's a long book, nearly 600 pages, but I dedicated a lot of time to reading it. Halfway through the book, I wondered how I had just hit that mark. It drags. The characters were also inconsistent--depending on which character was the main focus in a particular chapter, the other characters were presented differently. It's possible that this was the point, that we all view other people and their actions differently than others do and the way those people do themselves, but it was poorly executed. At the end, I don't know what I could tell you about the characters, except that they all suck in different ways. It was sort of just 570 pages of depressing, with 30 pages of hope, which seemed out of sync with the rest of the book.
Franzen's pretty great at descriptions, and had lots of astute observations about Washington, DC and funny one liners about Republicans and college students. My favorite was when Walter was saying that he hated DC because everyone wanted to be close to power: everyone knows how far away they live from John Kerry. True life, but, unlike Walter, I just think it's sort of funny.
So, I wouldn't read it again, and I wouldn't recommend it simply because I think it took too long for such a low payoff, but I don't doubt that other may love it.
Next up: The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender. After all the sadness of The Goon Squad and Freedom, I need a fluffy break.
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