Strong Motion

I picked up Strong Motion after enjoying Franzen's The Corrections. The story lines in this novel are more complexly layered than those in The Corrections, but also more tightly organized. Most notably, in stark contrast to The Corrections, Franzen does not send us off to the Baltics to experience needless side stories. Every overlapping and interwoven piece of text is important to the rest of the novel. Brief decriptions of the plot do not do the book justice, because they come off as unbelievable, even gimmicky. While Franzen does take bold risks with this story and his characters, this novel is so well crafted that I did not even pause to consider whether a particular plot twist was plausible. Like all good fiction, the unreal becomes real as the story unfolds. With rich, conflicted characters and smart, penetrating observations of American society, Franzen's Strong Motion is a master work. It is easy to see why there was such a buzz around the release of The Corrections: Franzen is one of the best contemporary American literary fiction has to offer.

I think Frantzen is downright scary! Not only does he write our inner worlds so accurately, most people hate him and his books... but he also seems to know our outer world in an eerily perceptive way. Just read the pages describing a "decadent people's" response to a catastrophe, and there you are in our 9/11 reality. Those pages gave me goosebumps. And then, a few pages on, we watch all the monsters who created a financial and environmental disaster, skip away with their millions. Hmmmm...is he not only damn talented with words, with deep, deep understanding of what people really are, of what love is, what sacrifice is, but also what our corrupt society is. Frankly, I keep being amazed, and I can't wait to read everything he's written. Is it possible that readers become so upset with him because he's bringing literature to a new realm? A realm we may not be ready for? A realm we're not comforable with because it's so much less "arty"--despite his beauty with words, but so much more real. No his characters are not likeable--are we, when we're all naked and confused and scared and selfish? I don't think so. But they--with only one or two exceptions in his books--are loveable. We come to know his characters the way God must. From the inside, where, with all the ugliness and flaws, there is grace and beauty. And ultimately, for all the satire, the irony, the cynicism, these books are rich in hope, in redemption, in grace. Damn this is a writer who Knows Something!

I just finished this book yesterday and I must say that it's going on my top ten favorite books list.I picked up Strong Motion because I'd heard about Jonathan Franzen through some fans of David Foster Wallace. I was not dissapointed. I'll skip the plot synopsis, since I've noticed that it has been done already, but I'll tell you what I loved about the book. Scenery. The book is set in Massachusetts -- mostly in Boston and its surrounding areas. I grew up just south of Boston, so the territory was familiar to me. Franzen really made me feel like I was back in that city, walking its streets, taking the train around. Many authors can write about being in the city, but few can really capture the feeling of a specific city like Franzen does for Boston. I really like that.Characters. Franzen creates some of the most memorable character I've ever read. Not for their quirkiness (a la Dickens) but more in the way that it is easy to see yourself in them. In Strong Motion, I was able to see some of my own qualities in both Louis and Rene and it gives the book a kind of intimacy.Details. There is a lot of detail in Strong Motion. I learned a lot about earthquakes and chemicals while reading the book. Franzen's skill, however, is integrating the technical details with the storyline, making the two fit together seamlessly. I never thought "ok, here we go with more technical stuff...".I really loved this book and I'd suggest it to anyone who enjoyed Franzen's The Corrections (which I also loved) or even David Foster Wallace, Don Delillo or Paula Fox. I found myself very involved in the story (which hits on abortions, earthquakes, sex, love, family, religious zeal and more). Do yourself a favor and read this book.

With Strong Motion, Franzen takes his place in the smart young writer pantheon along luminaries such as David Foster Wallace (Infinite Jest, duh) and Richard Price. This book contains more compelling insights about what it is like to be a dorky, disaffected, intelligent young person then a whole truck load of other books with similar goals. That being said, this book is also pretty "heavy" in that Franzen is not afraid to abandon the ironic detachment so common in young writers. But no matter. If you are even here, reading this review, it is obvious that you will like this book. Read it.