Freedom, second part.

So we get to know the characters better, Katz with his anti pop culture, Walter within two worlds, Patty married with one but in love with another, Joey and his independence and Connie the dependent. What do you think? Is any of them free?

From my point of view none of them are, and that takes me to the thought that probably, nobody is, there are always circumstances, family, money, careers... so why challenge with the title "Freedom"? What do you think the author is trying to say with it?

What do you think of what is happening in the book? Do you like it? Do you find it realistic? Because I think that Franzen ultimately wants to be realistic, but to me, maybe they are all too extreme and together tied by a fine rope, it just sounds like too much at times.

Freedom - First part

I am a little in advance this time, and I've got the permission to start with the discussion. Here some questions as appetizer:

What do you think about the beginning of "Good neighbors" up to the autobiography (not included)? Does it fit with the rest of the chapter? Not too much for me. The start is like a bad chapter of desperate housewives: a little too much of gossiping-nothing to do-ladies which really does not encourage to keep on reading. A bit of stereotype male thinking of a woman... Luckily the books turns out to be different from the autobiography onwards. Good shift? Definitively.

What about the freedom? How does affect to the book structure? to the characters?

It seems to give this strange section arrangements with an autobiography cut and placed in different parts. The concept is given the main position already in the title and its developed through the evolution of the characters. Do you think characters are really free to chose their ways? This "freedom" seems to make them quite miserable.

And the Winner is...

… Freedom! by Jonathan Franzen 

Where are you gonna get this one? Wherever, time to go for it!

Suggested reading schedule, coming up soon.

Although it's a dense, long book, I am enjoying it a lot (I haven't finished it yet, I must say :) I think that, this one, can be cnsidered as a masterpiece.
I think that the complexity of the book and the big amount of different characters are a good 'picture' of Brazil's society in a moment of time, and many things/situations are descriptive of other societies (mainly from South America, but not only) as well. The author has been very brave and ambitious writing this novel and I think that he has succeeded with it (so far, I hope the end will not disappoint me :)
Some people have said that this book could be better with two hundred pages less; so far I don't agree, I am enjoying it as it is.
Looking forward for your comments!
Best,
Jorge

The War of the End of the World - Final Thoughts

Who feels like opening the discussion?
From what we have commented on previous posts (and from some emails that have been exchanged), we can extract that there are a lot of mixed feelings about the story, the characters, and about the book itself.

The War of the End of the World - Part Three: Real Revolutions?

So how are you doing so far? We are a little behind schedule, but that won't stop us! We wanted to highlight the parallelism of the (fiction) revolution in Canudos and the real ones starting in the Middle East, what do you think? Are idealists like Galileo Gall appearing in Egypt? Morocco? Libya? Are the causes the same, hunger, poverty, inequality? What's the role of religion? In both our book and our newspapers we are seeing the armies against the people, does the book make you more interested in these developments? Or do you think they don't have common elements? Please, let us know your views!!

The War of the End of the World - Part Two

The second part of the book is a short one, and quite hilarious. It seems to be an answer (or a reinforcement) to Arantxa’s comment about manipulation of the media: “The corruption of politicians and power seems to be the same one a century after the war of the end of the world”.

What about the type of journalism? How much does the article look like nowadays journalism? And the journalist himself?

The War of the End of the World - Part One

In the first part of the book we get to know the story -- or at least part of it -- of some of the main characters; including a few local politicians, The Counselor’s followers, and Galileo Gall. However, after reading one fourth of the book, we really know nothing about The Counselor. What is his personal story? His background? His purpose?

In the two moments the book changes from having an omnipresent narrator to have Galileo Gall as the personal narrator, his thoughts bring up interesting points. Who are The Counselor’s followers? Are they part of a strategy of The Counselor to rebel against the pillars of a classist society? Is religion the only force able to strike a group of people for centuries yield to the oppression of a tyrannical church and abusive government?

The War of the End of the World

Thanks for your feedback about the reading and discussion pace of The Help!
Info about the guiding pace for reading and discussing The War of the End of the World at the "Book Discussion Schedule" page of this blog.

wishes from China

Hi Everyone,

I want to send you my warmest (!!) best wishes for Christmas and for health and happiness in  New Year.

It is my big pleasure to know and read all of you through the club.Thanks and cheers for Rocio and Macarena and you all ^_^

Hugs and kisses
--
Vivian Huang