tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2831493830359521087.post7549024539487579415..comments2023-09-09T03:06:09.477-07:00Comments on The Leaning Stack of Books: Review of Purity by Jonathan Franzenjenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02606291700379987935noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2831493830359521087.post-63526071613979008422015-09-25T10:36:59.797-07:002015-09-25T10:36:59.797-07:00I don't remember that incident with Naipaul. T...I don't remember that incident with Naipaul. Thanks for sending the link.<br /><br />The name Purity makes sense in the context of the novel. She's called "Pip."<br /><br />I will read his next one. I know it doesn't make sense, given my reaction to Purity. There really is much to admire/enjoy in his writing. I think the problem with this one is that it's more political than his family dramas have been, and it's the politics that bring out his jerkiness. It's also possible that I just know too much about him now, because he's been in the news. I wonder if I were to re-read The Corrections, if I'd be just as irritated at the way he portrays women. Does knowing about an author's jerkishness influence how I read? Maybe....<br /><br />Thanks, as always, for commenting. jenniferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02606291700379987935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2831493830359521087.post-59910897742103316052015-09-25T07:46:36.795-07:002015-09-25T07:46:36.795-07:00Yeah, I have never read Franzen (feel free to lead...Yeah, I have never read Franzen (feel free to lead the charge to toss me out of bookclub and steal my SPL card at our next meeting!)<br /><br />Purity? Really? Thats the best he can do for a name? Does she wash her face with Ivory Soap? Who do these authors think reads their books? I always wonder. And I wonder how many women read it vs. how many men?<br /><br />Would you read the next one he writes? I was intrigued that you thought the way he brought the other themes together was masterful. Maybe he should stick to topics that focus only on the bigger themes, or settings that are primarily male, like a book about a corporate board for example? Has there been one of those? <br /><br />I personally think we can read a book or listen to music even if the author is a "jerk" as you term it. But as I write that I am remembering a book and an author I stopped mid stream after a hateful diatribe (on the radio years ago) it would have gone viral if it happened now. So it does shape my thinking about a book, and I guess it can to the point where I will drop a book. <br /><br />http://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/oct/04/afghanistan.terrorism9<br /><br />Thanks for writing, you always give good questions to consider!<br />Gabriellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06752020119101561951noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2831493830359521087.post-44345796621043645662015-09-24T20:13:09.122-07:002015-09-24T20:13:09.122-07:00Thanks, Lisa! I bet he'd be really interesting...Thanks, Lisa! I bet he'd be really interesting to see/hear, though -- even if he said infuriating things. jenniferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02606291700379987935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2831493830359521087.post-52305579756625009142015-09-24T20:05:45.154-07:002015-09-24T20:05:45.154-07:00I loved this review, and I'm still chortling o...I loved this review, and I'm still chortling over your line, "that resembles spending a really long holiday weekend with your sexist Uncle Fred who won’t stop talking about Hillary Clinton." Mr. Franzen is coming to Houston for a reading/signing in the next couple of weeks. It's already sold out, but I wasn't planning to go - or to read this.Lisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17782561487396697870noreply@blogger.com