About halfway through this, I was convinced that Franzen had once again hit me with a perfect 10 of a book, but for some reason, the characters took a turn for me where I could no longer relate to their experiences in any way. I think the first section, where you're reading Patty's "memoir," is super effective because you can truly get a sense of her interior life and those around her, from her perspective, in a very real way. She and those around her are relatable because of their flaws and how you can see her grapple with them, but once we go to a higher perspective of Walter, Joey, and Richard, you're kind of just watching these very flawed people make their terrible decisions without much regard for self-reflection on them. It's still fantastic, and his style and humor propel the novel as blistering paces.

Reviewed on Monday, October 23rd, 2023, 10:52am.