I recently returned to the US, after a year in Germany, feeling somewhat defeated at my inability to fully master the German language. Having spent time taking classes, memorizing flashcards and immersing myself among native speakers, in the end, my head was still bouncing back and forth as I tried to follow conversations among friends.
As a treat to myself for having just completed a year of vigorous nodding and speaking in monosyllables, I quit with my German translation of Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants and ordered some hearty novels from The New York Times 10 Best Books of 2010 list. Among my choices was Freedom by the author who hails from my hometown of Webster Groves, Jonathan Franzen.
At 562 pages, this was the longest novel I've read since the last Harry Potter book and I finished it almost as quickly. But instead of reading about families of wizards that (probably) don't exist, I was reading about a family that could very well exist- and might live on my street. Freedom follows an American family so familiar to you, you almost feel nosy reading it. The depression, the alcoholism, the teenager drama- it's all there and written in a way that forces you to notice the excellent writing.
And the excellent writing and social observations from Franzen are the reason to read this book. Don't read it for the plot or with the expectation to strongly relate or root for any of the characters. It's the fluid way Franzen writes about the characters and connects them that will keep you hooked. Which is why this is a great book to read if you want to celebrate your command of the English language.
