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/lit/ - Literature

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1542232 No.1542232 [Reply] [Original]

This book is probably going to go down as a classic.
How does that make /lit/ feel?

>> No.1542241

Amused on account of OP's delusion.

>> No.1542239

I dunno, but I'm eventually going to read it anyway.

>> No.1542245
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1542245

>> No.1542247

Well,
>>1542231

It's a'ight but nothing amazing imo

>> No.1542250

Franzen will become the new Rand on /lit/.

>> No.1542261

i hope not

franzen is yet another author clawing his way up the dogpile of authors trying to do a "The Way We Live Now" novel

i appreciate his broad cultural references and contextualization, but having wilco in his book doesn't make him the voice of a generation

>> No.1542278

I don't dislike him, but I really do not get the hype at all. I don't think he's a very good prose stylist either

>> No.1542290

Too bourgeois for me. His scope is very narrow and occupies a very specific "decently cultured upper middle class white person" niche. I don't think he has very much important to say. If anything, the mythologizing of suburban whites in a dramatic literary novel is self-serving and pandering to an audience.

>> No.1542319

>>1542290
Agreed. Freedom is like the Me and You and Everyone We Know of books. A totally unmoving account of the melodrama of man-children and women-children who wish to return to the womb. He has spent his entire career trying to mitigate the fact that he has nothing to say. Signs of the times... Remember when authors fought in wars, sailed on ships or were put in prison for political insurgency?

>> No.1542336

>>1542290

You say that like the canon isn't composed of works of literature from white men who were pretty well off in their day. To write is to have too much time on your hands.

>> No.1542375

>>1542336
Yes, that's largely true, but many other writers are not as self-limiting and... plainly bourgeois about it. Franzen's a bit British in that regard, maybe. Also, as >>1542319 pointed out, there have been many writers who wrote about vital experiences and didn't have such staid content.

But for me personally, Franzen just says nothing to me about my life.

>> No.1542405

>>1542319
Remember when fighting in wars, sailing and participating in insurgency were part of the American experience? The world has changed quite a bit since Hemingway's days. Also, if you actually read the book, you would have to admit that he does provide interesting commentary on PMC's.

>> No.1542415

>>1542375
i'm sure it'll go down better for people posting on /lit/ in 150 years after society rebuilds from the nuclear apocalypse, oprah's book club picks are studied as the religious literature of a dead civilization, and some prickly swarthmore grad who wears expensive glasses and likes the mekons is a fascinating character from the drama of the past rather than just another douche who reminds you of your sister's husband

>> No.1542416

Jonathan Franzen is like the Jane Austen of contemporary American culture.

>> No.1542422

>book is released
>in less than a year people say it's a classic

just like Harry Potter!

>> No.1542426

>>1542415
Sounds like you want to sleep with your sister, bro

>> No.1542438

>>1542405
America has changed drastically. But it's still far more complex and multi-faceted than how Franzen presents it. Franzen presents a single aspect of America (and a very boring and obvious considering his audience). You may disagree, but I find this just some more of the same white guilt and navel-gazing soul-searching that this particular set of people often exhibit in their cultural artifacts (Franzen novels).

>> No.1542440

>>1542426
i don't have a sister! i was trying to keep it just a step away from getting to personal; in actuality i want to sleep with my aunt

>> No.1542442

>>1542416
I pretty much agree with this but I don't know whether you mean it as an insult or a compliment

>> No.1542449

>>1542442
Neither. It's just a simile. People can apply their own opinions.

>> No.1542457

>>1542438
I would have to disagree with you. I think that Franzen presented a multi-dimensional portrait of middle class America, granted he did not create a very diverse one. However, I believe that a large theme of the story was how the conflicting liberties and values that the middle class holds has such a profound effect on the country. There is not much diversity in the novel, but then again, look at upper middle class America.

>> No.1542478

I am an upper middle class white American. I want to read a book that allows me to see that description as meaningful in and of itself rather than simply the stage upon which my individual identity is expressed. Is Franzen the author for me?

body massage

>> No.1542489

>>1542457
Of course, I'm not arguing that Franzen is a completely incompetent writer. He's fine... I just find his content very boring and maybe even a little distasteful. I can't help but roll my eyes at the perceived vanity and cryptic exceptionalism in his work. I just don't share his sensibilities.

...welp, time to go watch some more of The Wire...