The Corrections

"La Gran Novela Americana Contrmporánea". Eso resume lo que pienso de Las correcciones y debería bastar como reseña. Pero me voy a externder justificando esta apreciación. No sé si Franzen se lo propuso al escribirla, pero estoy seguro de que lo consiguió. Sí, David Foster Wallace y su Broma infinita me gustan mucho más y no voy a discutir su complejidad superior (y muchas otras características que la hacen única y merecedora de todos los elogios) pero, a pesar de tratarse de autores contemporáneos y hasta amigos entre sí, no considero que sean novelas comparables. Estoy hablando de una novela que refleje las características de los Estados Unidos en este momento, en este siglo, en este zeitgeist, y Las correcciones lo show more consigue magistralmente al traducir la realidad completa y actual de todo un país a través de las vicisitudes de una familia: los Lambert. Eso es para mí "la Gran Novela Americana Contemporánea" (título horriblemente pomposo, pero nunca mejor merecido).

Todos los elementos están presentes:


*El patriarca, Alfred, que forjó los cimientos de la familia, típico macho norteamericano, corpulento, listo (es interesante descubrir que leía a Schopenhauer en su juventud), machista, terco. Somos testigos de su auge y de su humillante pero inevitable caída. A su alrededor crece y florece el resto de la familia, gracias a él, directa o indirectamente, todos son lo que son, estén o no dispuestos a admitirlo.

*Luego está Enid, la madre, la esposa, la histeria en vida. Enid es todo emoción, la contraparte del intelectual y serio Alfred. Pasa su vida permitiendo que este la corrija, aceptando sumisamente la culpa de todo lo que ha ido mal pero sabiendo que es su esposo quien debería hacer las cosas de otra manera. Deposita todas sus esperanzas (engendradas en la frustración desu propia vida) en sus tres hijos.

*Gary, el mayor, es el más existoso desde los parámetros norteamericanos y sin embargo el menos satisfecho. Aun cuando sus padres deberían estar orgullosos de él por haber alcanzado todo lo que se esperaba y más, vive en constante conflicto con estos pues ellos son los que, mientras envejecen, no se ajustan a los estándares materialistas de este hijo.Gary lucha contra el diagnóstico de depresión clínica, dado por Caroline, su esposa, y se empeña en demostrar que todo en él está bien, con resultados casi catastróficos.

*Le sigue Chip, una amalgama entre intelectual-artista-profesor. Un cliché. Es el fracasado de la familia (según la opinión de sus hermanos, porque sus padres le tienen en alta estima). Después de casi tocar fondo, huye hacia Lituania a la primera oportunidady se embarca en un trabajo para el que no tiene ninguna experiencia y que sin embargo le permite vivir mucho mejor de lo que jamás pudo en Estados Unidos. Pero tarde o temprando tendrá que volver y enfrentarse a la realidad. Quizás el único hijo al que no le importan en lo más mínimo las expectativas desus padres; vive hedonistamente, para sí.

*Finalmente está Denise, la última hermana. Denise, la insegura, la que no sabe lo que quiere, la que hace todo lo que hace por satisfacer asus padres, buscando un equilibrio con lo que ella desearía para sí misma. Se debate entre el éxito profesional y su dubitatiba orientación sexual. Adora a sus padres y reprende a sus hermanos cuando estos los desvaloran. Denise parece la más sana y estable, pero debajo de su cara bonita hay mucha oscuridad.


Por separado, todos estos personajes son magníficamente construidos; su psicología es de las cosas mejor elaboradas que he visto en ficción. Me he tomado la molestia (que en realidad fue un placer) de retratarlos brevemente porque están muy frescos en mi mente y siento que los conozco muy bien. Muchas de las reseñas negativas sobre la novela hacen referencia a lo insoportables que pueden llegar a ser los personajes. Estoy de acuerdo con esa opinión, pero es necesaria una acotación: son insoportables porque se parecen mucho a nosotros, a esa parte de la que no nos gusta presumir, porque muesran la realidad dura y pura de un ser humano habitante del siglo XXI. ¿Y cuál es el trabajo de la buena ficción? Ese, precisamente. Así que si los personajes son incómodos, es porque la realidad, desprovista de todo maquillaje, es terriblemente incómoda.

He dicho todo esto en relación a los personajes por separado, analizándolos uno por uno, lo cual, de entrada, es un error. Desde el principio está claro que todos ellos, como familia, se definen mutuamente. La dinámica familiar retratada por Franzen es hermosa en su complejidad. Cualquiera que tenga familia (lo que equivale a decir "cualquiera que tenga sangre") se sentirá reflejado en al menos una de las escenas que muestran las relaciones entre los miembros de esta "adorable" familia. De hecho toda la trama (no lineal) va poco a poco convergiendo en el capítulo final: la reunión para la última cena de Navidad, que como clímax no decepciona.

¿Hablo sobre el título? De acuerdo. Es evidente, a medida que vas conociendo a los personajes, que todos están buscando cambiar algo en ellos mismos o en los otros (o hacer lo uno a través de lo otro, que es más común). Mejorar, arreglar, corregir. Sucede a lo largo de toda la novela, con referencias directas o veladas. Mi favorita, por ser una especie de broma (y eso siempre me recuerda a David Foster Wallace) es la del procedimiento neuroquímico que se supone que curará el Parkinson de Alfred y con ello mejorará la vida de todos: su nombre es "Corecktall" (pronúnciece correct all). Lo último que quiero es buscarle moraleja a la historia, pero aquí va una idea final: reconocer que hacer correcciones es algo inherente a nuestra naturaleza es reconocer que somos imperfectos y que sin importar lo bien o mal que nos vaya en la vida, nunca nos cansamos de corregir, nunca estamos conformes.

La Gran Novela Americana, al menos de la primera década de este siglo, se llama Las correcciones. Esto puede gustar a unos y fastidiar a otros, pero es un hecho. Opinen lo que quieran. show less

I started this review once already, struggled with it, and have decided to start completely over. The problem was that I was trying overly hard to justify my feelings. The words jumbled out, page after page, full of whining and excuses. I wanted to somehow convey my strong dislike for Franzen's personality, my ambivalence toward much of this book, but my appreciation for its strong moments, and my certainty that it had cemented its status as the best book Franzen will ever write. I felt I had to somehow justify four stars for an author whose pretentious prickness has only catapulted his career. I had to explain that while an author's personality should in no way impact critique of their work, it does; Franzenisms saturates the pages of show more this novel. The more I tried to justify all my mixed feelings, the more I felt like a pretentious prick.

So, The Corrections. It's not a simple read. It's over inflated and lags in the middle. The characters are intentionally unlikable, but depending on the reader's preferences, some of these characters may be widely loved. Personally, my favorite character was a turd. (Really, I'm not kidding—an actual turd.) Franzen's intelligence is evident in nearly every page; the man can write. There's a crude Shakespearean quality to Franzen's tragic farce. Likely, The Corrections is the most insightful and sensitive work the author will ever create. Yes, it's meant to shock, but that doesn't keep it from shining light on human nature and family dynamics. It takes an old idea (a disastrous family reunion) and makes it interesting. Yet, there's a cloak of arrogance that envelopes it all, making the production feel a bit like a politically-minded hipster soap opera. All in all, it's not worth the hype, in my opinion, but if you read only one Franzen, this is the one.

So I offer a few kind words to a man who has few. Well done, Mr. Franzen. You've written a good novel. You're obviously very intelligent and extremely focused, and for these traits I commend you. show less

A painfully realistic look at a normal Midwestern family and the way that even such a "normal" family is hopelessly mucked up. As I was reading it, I was hoping that at least one member of the family would manage to rise above their dysfunctions, actually succeed at making their "corrections," and lead a reasonably well-adjusted life, yet despairing that this would actually turn out to be the case. I was grateful that Chip and possibly Denise did seem to be somewhat better off at the end, but their parents and Gary sadly did not. Though it might be suspected that Franzen was trying to rewrite this family tragedy as a farce, and though it was quite satirical much of the time, the tragedy still shone through in all its painfully realistic show more bitterness. It depicted well the state of growing old and even growing demented.

It was difficult to get into at first due to its utterly mundane subject matter, but it became more compelling as I got to know the characters from inside their heads more. show less

Not since 100 Years of Solitude have I been so convinced that an author wrote a book to specifically piss me off.

I have no idea what to make of this. I was into it early, but after about page 200 I felt like I was having a mental breakdown; what the fuck was going on? Why are we spending 100 pages on this, 100 pages on that, all of which are bloated, pretentious and boring tangents.

But the book is so well written, it's maddening. The prose and descriptions flow effortlessly, as long as you're ok with going along for the ride. I got a very clear idea of who these characters were and why they were like that, I just didn't like any of them...nor was I supposed to. Is this satire? I have no clue - the final 100 pages are, frustratingly, show more really good. True moments of reflection, quiet and difficult family moments hit hard. The ending was very satisfying.

But still, fuck this book. I hated how there weren't any chapter breaks, I was frustrated at the structure, and most of all I am immensely annoyed that a beautifully written book is one of my least favorite ever.

Some parts are 5 stars, some made me want to give up reading for a few months. show less

I've avoided reading Franzen and if it weren't for my book club, I wouldn't have read this book but I was pleasantly surprised. Pleasant may not be the best word for this novel as it is an unpleasant story about a dysfunctional family and I swiftly found myself hating every character in the book. It is a credit to Franzen's writing that I was still interested in finding out what happens to them. I was particularly impressed by the opening of the book where the narrative would follow one character until he met up with someone else and then the story would rather cinematically tag along with another character. Franzen also did well at capturing the sense of dementia in the family patriarch and the spreading effect that had on the family. show more Still, this book is not an easy read as these are nasty, nasty people.

Recommended books: No specific books, but I find parallels with the writing of Richard Russo and Jonathan Lethem. show less

The ending is darkly realistic. Alfred dies but Enid is not grieving. Instead, she is looking forward to life. Time is short because she is already 75. Seems cruel but that is life. And I think most of the readers will support her. That is the success of Franzen. He makes the characters alive and real. He spends a lot of time dwelling on them, sometimes too much (like Alfred's turd episode). But this gives them well-rounded personalities. You don't hate even the worst of them like Gary and Caroline. You probably wish you can give Gary a tight slap, especially when he spoils their Christmas dinner, but he does have his parents' best interests at heart. And we find that Alfred has his children's interests at heart too. Alfred left his show more company on the brink of retirement for Denise's sake, and he did not even chastise her for her dalliance with a much older man, only telling her in his demented state to have fun but be careful. This was such a touching moment I cried buckets. Enid had her moment too when she decided to unfriend Bea because of the latter's views on lesbianism (parents do know their children best). There were hilarious moments too. For example, Chip hiding the salmon in his pants, and only the readers know the unconventional route the salmon took. I must also make mention of the dialogue, which is a delight. Real, and not stilted. show less

Reading Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections is a face-first waterslide flop laced with piss and vinegar.

Franzen's lightning-fast metaphors describe the brutality of family relations and sex. They begin on sentence one and don't end until you lie exhausted on the side of the pool. The book is intensely real at the same time that it is wildly and impossibly imagined.

If you like brilliant, fire hose prose about the banalities of human relationships, laugh-out-your nose naughtiness, and sex, lots of sex, you will love, love, love The Corrections. If you prefer a bit more propriety, better to slip into cooler waters.