The Corrections: A Novel

I really got into this book and it stands out as one of my favorite listens. It's a character driven book and the story and characters felt really true to life in a quirky way. The observations woven into the story on life, family and marriage brought the story to another level for me. Franzen's other book Freedom seems to be more reviewed. I have listened to both and prefer this one. George Guidall does his usual fantastic job as a narrator.

One of the best books I've listened to all year....well next to Franzen's more recent novel, 'Freedom'. Both are so so so good. Franzen is my favorite author right now. These are the types of listens that will make your next audible purchase very difficult because nothing will be as good.

Franzen and Guidall are a perfect formula for a successful literary novel. The Lambert family is so funny, sad, hopeful and disastrous that I was unaware that all the 568 pages had passed me by. Franzen's gift for allowing characters to drift, grow and develop their self awareness have made me a devotee of all his work so far.

Definitely recommended as worth your time and credit.

For this book I wish I could rate it 3.75, it was definitely better than a 3 but really not quite a 4. The characters are really well developed and Franzen's writing style is very detailed and so vivid (unbelievable descriptions of what it must be like to have Parkinson's disease) - you definitely get the picture he has painted with words, but sometimes he just goes on too long, the detail and description is just too much. I like a good book that doesn't waste my time with tedious, unrelated to the story, details. For me that is what stops this book from being a 4.

Usually the unabridged version of any book is the best one- -however, after listening to the abridged version of this book, which was 9 hours long, I saw there was a new unabridged version. Of course I thought I had missed a ton of material since the unabridged book is 12 hours longer - so I listened to the unabridged version, which was 21 hours long - I've got to say the additional 12 hours did not add much substance to the book. There was some value in that explanations of some of the events were more understandable, but overall it really was not worth it. Both versions are good, but I would recommend the abridged -it gets you there without all the "fillers"-

The book is a masterpiece of the understanding of human emotions, but also of all the secret motivations that drive our daily lives- -we all have our own agenda's- I applaud the author on his incredible insight.into the human heart and his ability to translate those feelings with such skill.

By the way, the narrator of the Abridged Version is the very best to listen to- he hits the perfect mark everytime on all characters and just the right pauses and tempo!

George Guidall's rendition of this pitch-perfect portrait of neurotic dysfunction is brilliant. Only slightly exaggerated, the interior worlds of these generally unlikeable persons emerge with poignant and uncomfortable clarity.

The pleasure of a good writting is sometimes a surprise you do not expect

Read this for a second time after passage of a decade. Hadn't remembered how depressing the story was, and how frustrating the characters, but was stunned by how very deeply down the book made me feel without allowing me to separate from it. I had to keep reading. The prose is beautiful and continues to draw you in for even the saddest and most absurd developments. There is a line in this book that i love about how can one even stand when you don't understand how difficult another's life can be. It is such an amazing and critical line that it stays after with me long after I have finished the book. THat is why I read. I want to imagine how difficult it is to live someone else's life because that understanding makes life easier to live for me. I found this an amazingly honest and compassionate book despite how very uncompassionate it starts out.The reader is excellent although the woman's characters got sort of high-pitched voices that can be really irritating.Excellent narrator and interpretation. Highly recommended

This ranks in the middle 50%. I went on forever with drawn out sub plots. I identified with the main character and that made it painful. I'll try another Franzen book and see f I can get through it without getting frustrated.

That George Guidall was the reader.

You know, that's a hard one for me to answer. EVERYTHING that George Guidall reads comes to life. It's quite amazing. The way that he can truly separate one character from another; the way that he does wormen just makes him the very best in this art form..I have reached a point in my audio book listening experience that has me looking for books that he has read, no matter that I have no idea about the author or plot. I felt the same way about Muller and sorry that he has passed and there will be no more.

Al's infirmity got to me. I'm his age.

Keep 'em coming.

Franzen's ability to get deep inside the heads of his characters and reveal their thoughts, emotions, and motivations is fascinating. Some characters are likeable. Others are not. But they are a very human mix of fear, frailty, hope and desire.