Freedom
- Downloads：1807
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-08-13 09:53:37
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Jonathan Franzen
- ISBN：0007269765
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
'Both a page-turner and a work of art。。。 an almost perfectly written novel' — Sarah Sands， Evening Standard
This is the story of the Berglunds， their son Joey， their daughter Jessica and their friend Richard Katz。 It is about how we use and abuse our freedom; about the beginning and ending of love; teenage lust; the unexpectedness of adult life; why we compete with our friends; how we betray those closest to us; and why things almost never work out as they 'should'。 It is a story about the human heart， and what it leads us to do to ourselves and each other。
This is the story of the Berglunds， their son Joey， their daughter Jessica and their friend Richard Katz。 It is about how we use and abuse our freedom; about the beginning and ending of love; teenage lust; the unexpectedness of adult life; why we compete with our friends; how we betray those closest to us; and why things almost never work out as they 'should'。 It is a story about the human heart， and what it leads us to do to ourselves and each other。
Reviews
Linda Goodman
，
This is one of the best books I've read this year。 Now I'm kicking myself for leaving it sit on my bookcase for the past 10 years。 This is the story of Patty and Walter Berglund from the time they meet in college until they are in their early 50's。 The first short chapter is a recap of their time in St。 Paul shortly before their lives start to fall apart and is mainly describing how their neighbors view them。 The rest of the book tells their story and the story of Walter's long time friend， Rich This is one of the best books I've read this year。 Now I'm kicking myself for leaving it sit on my bookcase for the past 10 years。 This is the story of Patty and Walter Berglund from the time they meet in college until they are in their early 50's。 The first short chapter is a recap of their time in St。 Paul shortly before their lives start to fall apart and is mainly describing how their neighbors view them。 The rest of the book tells their story and the story of Walter's long time friend， Richard and their son， Joey， in more detail。 I won't get into specifics to avoid spoilers except to say that I didn't find Patty to be a very sympathetic character at first。 My only complaint is that most of the chapters are very long。 I prefer books with chapters around 20-25 pages。 Even though this is a relatively long book， I never lost interest。 。。。more
Richard Fowler
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Loved it。 Great modern novel。
Mr D
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Ghastly。 I was initially drawn into the book intrigued by what promised to be quite gripping。 Soon， the the characters were repellent and the storyline even more so。 Rubbish and one of the very， very few books I did not finish。 If you read the book， you'll probably find out where I gave up。 Ghastly。 I was initially drawn into the book intrigued by what promised to be quite gripping。 Soon， the the characters were repellent and the storyline even more so。 Rubbish and one of the very， very few books I did not finish。 If you read the book， you'll probably find out where I gave up。 。。。more
Rebecca Maher
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It was diverting。 But how many books have to be written about these kinds of people？
Beth Ann
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As three college friends come together and fall apart， Freedom offers glimpses into the lives of a hands-on parenting couple and their friend who moves on to fame and fortune in music。Franzen is masterful in creating characters that get and stay in your head。 There are no simple narratives for any of the people he followsLike most of Franzens books， however， no one is happy。 You see each character live their lives to the fullest in youth and fade into regret and engage in horrible efforts to rec As three college friends come together and fall apart， Freedom offers glimpses into the lives of a hands-on parenting couple and their friend who moves on to fame and fortune in music。Franzen is masterful in creating characters that get and stay in your head。 There are no simple narratives for any of the people he followsLike most of Franzens books， however， no one is happy。 You see each character live their lives to the fullest in youth and fade into regret and engage in horrible efforts to recapture their glory。If you want to book where you have to see the consequences of every mistake every one of these people has made， this is absolutely going to be a great read for you。I recommend drinking while reading Frazens books。🍷🍷 。。。more
Karma Rappleye
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Solid book。 Franzen writes great characters who you grow to love and empathize with。
Laura Luther
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Beautiful writing & a happy ending。 What more could a reader ask for？
rachel hasarchi
，
This one took me a while to finish NOT because it wasn't good。。 no。。 it was great。。 I just kept stopping and thinking at points tearing up。 As a woman in her early 40's this one hit close to home （ much like catcher in the rye hits you in your early 20's） This one took me a while to finish NOT because it wasn't good。。 no。。 it was great。。 I just kept stopping and thinking at points tearing up。 As a woman in her early 40's this one hit close to home （ much like catcher in the rye hits you in your early 20's） 。。。more
Lee
，
I got over 200 pages in on this one and just couldn’t go on， my problem was that I just couldn’t root for any of the characters。！！ I find it difficult to remain interestedIn a Story where I really don’t care about any of the principals…。
ola✨
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DNF， nie wiem na ile to kwestia tłumaczenia （dawno mnie tak żadne nie irytowało） a na ile po prostu odbioru książki jako słabej。
Archit Joshi
，
Not The Corrections by a long shot。
Val
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 A long but satisfying read， at first I was a bit unsure if I would carry on with this as I felt the treatment of Patty's sexual assault was quite flippant， by both the author and the family， but I stuck around and I did like the character development， and it all just felt very real， messy families， trying to unsay the unsayable and to forgive the unforgivable and yet still loving each other in spite of everything。 I also quite liked the ending， which I was kind of dreading how all of the differe A long but satisfying read， at first I was a bit unsure if I would carry on with this as I felt the treatment of Patty's sexual assault was quite flippant， by both the author and the family， but I stuck around and I did like the character development， and it all just felt very real， messy families， trying to unsay the unsayable and to forgive the unforgivable and yet still loving each other in spite of everything。 I also quite liked the ending， which I was kind of dreading how all of the different characters might end up， but it's handled in a neat but also believable way。 Happy to have read it。 。。。more
Anne-Marie
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The four characters the story focuses on are deeply flawed and I love the book all the more for it。 It also surprised me by bringing it to a satisfactory conclusion。
Rita Schroen
，
This book left me in awe
Josy
，
Franzen is God。
Madison Borsos
，
The summary of this book on the inside of its jacket was enough to spark my interest （in addition to the fact that it was $3。99 for a hardback copy at a closing bookstore）。 I expected to like it for the sheer fact that it sounded interesting to watch the characters’ lives come apart。 This book was so much more enjoyable and interesting than I expected it to be。 The writing style and the weaving of the story is amazing， and even if I didn’t like the book I would’ve still had a lot of respect for The summary of this book on the inside of its jacket was enough to spark my interest （in addition to the fact that it was $3。99 for a hardback copy at a closing bookstore）。 I expected to like it for the sheer fact that it sounded interesting to watch the characters’ lives come apart。 This book was so much more enjoyable and interesting than I expected it to be。 The writing style and the weaving of the story is amazing， and even if I didn’t like the book I would’ve still had a lot of respect for how well it was written。 I enjoyed the fact that the characters seemed like real people。 Often in books， the characters seem almost perfect except for one flaw that moves the plot along， but then the readers are hung up on that single flaw that could’ve been avoided。 However， Franzen’s characters， like real people， have many personal and interpersonal flaws and likewise make mistakes。 He also includes their weird habits and reminds the reader of them periodically， which reinforces the idea that they’re people and not just characters。 Nearing the end， I was hoping for a specific ending but it didn’t seem like it would work out that way， but it ended up being exactly the ending I was hoping for。 It wasn’t predictable （there’s not a single way I could predict anything in this book） but I was perfectly satisfied with it。 。。。more
Clay Greer
，
Fuck this book。 Fuck the characters。 Fuck their lives。 Fuck their stupid decisions。 Fuck their self pitying and self defeating attitudes。 Fuck their whining and general assholery。 And most of all fuck the author for writing this and making me care about these terrible people。 This isn’t a book about great people trying to achieve great things。 It’s a book about mediocre people trying to remain mediocre。 It is great。 I loved it。 But seriously fuck this book。
Kira Williams
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Possibly the most dismal， depressing and self-involved book I've read。 I had to skim read the last 100 pages as I just couldn't take any more of the ghastly characters and their multitudinous flaws。You'd be hard pressed to find a single happy event in this book and the levels of detail about incredibly mundane activities and thoughts made me grind to a halt every time I picked up the book， meaning it took me several months to finish。 The hype around Franzen， and this book in particular as a 'mod Possibly the most dismal， depressing and self-involved book I've read。 I had to skim read the last 100 pages as I just couldn't take any more of the ghastly characters and their multitudinous flaws。You'd be hard pressed to find a single happy event in this book and the levels of detail about incredibly mundane activities and thoughts made me grind to a halt every time I picked up the book， meaning it took me several months to finish。 The hype around Franzen， and this book in particular as a 'modern classic'， were the only reasons I felt obliged to plow on。 。。。more
Jenny Suzanne
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Meh。 Too much white man whining。 I appreciate his brilliance but I’m bored。
Nana
，
I don't usually celebrate read anniversaries， but I noticed exactly one year has passed since I finished reading this。 It comes to my mind， for various reasons， if not almost every day， surely almost every week。 One of the most memorable reading experiences。My original mini-review:I liked everything about this book: the insanely gripping storytelling， the strongly character-driven plot， ingeniously woven around agendaish topics I don't necessarily relate to but nevertheless admire for the intell I don't usually celebrate read anniversaries， but I noticed exactly one year has passed since I finished reading this。 It comes to my mind， for various reasons， if not almost every day， surely almost every week。 One of the most memorable reading experiences。My original mini-review:I liked everything about this book: the insanely gripping storytelling， the strongly character-driven plot， ingeniously woven around agendaish topics I don't necessarily relate to but nevertheless admire for the intellectual power it takes to handle so masterfully， the characters' completely credible development seen in their interactions， the terrific dialogues， and acute narrative observations， and even the occasional grotesquely goofy humor （a spoiler alert could be due here， but fellow readers will know which scene I'm referring to） on the pages showcasing the most despicable of the Berglund lot。A delicious piece of social radiology and a strong contender for the best-book-I-ever-read title。 。。。more
Sue
，
Excellent book， but it was way to long。
Liam Arne
，
I ended up enjoying this more than I thought， but maaaan does the author hate women… I’m all about complicated female characters but he clearly set out to make them almost exclusively unlikable in the extreme。 However， it’s a fascinating family tale overall and paints a complex picture of American life。 I get why so many liked it when it debuted and I get why it was so divisive too
Lyudmila Marlier
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Ох уж этот Франзен， всё в лоб， всё как топором вырублено， никакого изящества。 С одной стороны。 С другой - пошла читать его дальше。 Но с котиком， это он， конечно， погорячился。
Christian Stofko
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Well-written， but I hated every character in this book and found myself finishing it mostly to see if bad things happened to them
keala burns
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Hands down one of the best writers for developing and creating characters。 Every single person in this story is well written and described， with their little quirks and details， and are all very real people。 You know how when you're walking down the street， and you're looking at the faces of the people walking by and thinking to yourself， isn't it incredible that they all have lives and histories and feelings that you could never fathom？ This book is like that， except you perfectly understand ea Hands down one of the best writers for developing and creating characters。 Every single person in this story is well written and described， with their little quirks and details， and are all very real people。 You know how when you're walking down the street， and you're looking at the faces of the people walking by and thinking to yourself， isn't it incredible that they all have lives and histories and feelings that you could never fathom？ This book is like that， except you perfectly understand each character and why they do what they do。 It's a very honest portrayal of life， and of people， and I appreciate that more than anything。 。。。more
Mateen Mahboubi
，
I picked up this book soon after I read The Corrections and looked forward to reading it but for whatever reason， whether it be the reviews comparing it to negatively to the earlier novel or just other interesting things to read first， resulted in it sitting on the shelf until I decided to pull it our years later。 To be honest， the wait was probably for the best。 I can say that the decade since this book was published has really helped to prepare me to really get the most out of it。 Whether it b I picked up this book soon after I read The Corrections and looked forward to reading it but for whatever reason， whether it be the reviews comparing it to negatively to the earlier novel or just other interesting things to read first， resulted in it sitting on the shelf until I decided to pull it our years later。 To be honest， the wait was probably for the best。 I can say that the decade since this book was published has really helped to prepare me to really get the most out of it。 Whether it be my political opinions， having children， developing relationships， my marriage maturing， this is a book that has a lot of life experience behind it and coming to it with more of my own made it hit hard。Similar to The Corrections， we get a family where each member gets the spotlight in parts。 We are frustrated by their actions and feels but never left to feel like they are acting in a way that is unexpected or unrealistic。 Everyone is selfish， caring， kind and loving at different times and following their lives over the decades really lets us know the characters and see them grow （or regress） over the years。 。。。more
Gabriel Echavarri Fernandez
，
Hace un par de días que acabé el libro y aun estoy levitando。 ¡Que pedazo de libro！ ¡Que novela más descomunal！ No me equivocaré mucho si digo que es uno de los mejores libros que hoy en día se pueden leer。Reseña completa en https://366libros。blogspot。com/2021/0。。。 Hace un par de días que acabé el libro y aun estoy levitando。 ¡Que pedazo de libro！ ¡Que novela más descomunal！ No me equivocaré mucho si digo que es uno de los mejores libros que hoy en día se pueden leer。Reseña completa en https://366libros。blogspot。com/2021/0。。。 。。。more
josephine o'brien
，
The main positive about this book is that it's a easy， entertaining read - it's obviously long， but at no point did I not want to finish it and I found myself pretty engrossed in Franzen's writing at many points。 Franzen is also really good at capturing the specific cultural moment of the early 2000s， and some （emphasis on SOME） of his characters were incredibly well developed （as many reviews note， this reads like an intense character study of Walter/Joey）。But all in all， it fell flat。 Througho The main positive about this book is that it's a easy， entertaining read - it's obviously long， but at no point did I not want to finish it and I found myself pretty engrossed in Franzen's writing at many points。 Franzen is also really good at capturing the specific cultural moment of the early 2000s， and some （emphasis on SOME） of his characters were incredibly well developed （as many reviews note， this reads like an intense character study of Walter/Joey）。But all in all， it fell flat。 Throughout the book， Franzen has lots of Thoughts about American culture in the early 21st century。 It is clear that this is supposed to be making a broad-strokes， Serious Argument。 And we get little wisps of different arguments throughout different parts。 But all in all， these wisps do not come together into a cohesive thesis， leaving the reader with a messy ball of half-arguments。 It felt like with just a bit more work， we could have gotten the Serious Argument。 Also， I'm going to have to talk about the female characters。 Obviously， it's a common critique at this point of authors like Franzen that their female characters are terrible。 But I really didn't expect it to be this bad！ Patty came off as one dimensional -- when there was SO much room for interesting development， she was just the Sad Wife。 All of the female characters （Patty， Jenna， Connie） so explicitly only exist to show off different aspects of Walter and Joey's characters （Joey basically says that at one point）。 It was disappointing and frankly annoying while reading， especially in contrast to how well developed Walter and Joey were。 。。。more
Valerie
，
Should have left this on my to read list where it had remained for over a decade。 Not a single remotely likeable character or aspect to this story。
Александр Таряник
，
Немного затянутая и довольно тяжёлая история семьи уничтожающей саму себя。Неудачная книга для отпуска。。。 Шла со скрипом。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Freedom
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Freedom&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Freedom&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0