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This was my first time reading Jonathan Franzen, expectations were met & surpassed. I loved this book. The characters were in depth & realistic, self absorbed, & sometimes jerks, but still oddly likable. The length was perfect, not too long, not too short. You get closure. You feel fully satisfied, but you still want to go back & read it again.
It never felt preachy to me, it just felt real.

The other day I found myself near the self-help section of a bookstore I like to go to. I scanned titles, How to Live or How to Love. Early on in this book two side characters remark on Patty & Walter that they just haven’t figured out how to live yet. This book is probably best described as an introspection on how they learn to do that.

I definitely recommend this book to anybody who hasn’t read Franzen yet. I feel like it was a good place to start with him. I definitely plan on reading The Corrections next.