Jonathan Franzen - Freedom BOOK REVIEW

[@khanani87]

Glad to see you reviewing this; one of my favourite books and definitely due for a re-read. Beautiful, beautiful ending. And I just adore the characters he writes. I love their flaws, their foibles and their humanity. The Corrections has many similarities to Freedom, but its just as compelling. I read Freedom first though, so I think it'll always be my favourite. Another great video, thank you the great content Cliff.

The videos are getting better. Great job! But, am I the only one that actually misses the "John Waters quote" at the end?

[@Sanjuaro]

Definitely not.

[@Amysdustybookshelf]

I know I miss it!

[@cantsaycindy]

I think Infinite Jest is the last great American novel. I'm about to start Freedom, I'm pretty excited

[@dfgsdfhgdhggdffgfhds]

Infinite Jest is the great novel of not only america, but the whole western world!

[@Earbly]

im in the middle of The Corrections, so far it's been incredible, and i highly recommend

[@ana-mariapetre3340]

Hi Cliff. I've been following you for a while and I think what you do here is great. I always come to your channel for reference or suggestions about what to read next. It seems to me that sound literary advice is very hard to come by these days. Thank you, and I hope you won't lose your enthusiasm.

[@BetterThanFoodBookReviews]

Ana-Maria Petre As long as people like you keep watching and commenting, I'm pressing forward. Thank you for your support, great to hear you're getting a lot out of the show!

[@Dpiiiius]

Bro, your channel is dope. You and The_Bookchemist are doing great work. Thanks for all of the reviews and tips! You just got another subscriber

[@EveForbiddenFruit]

Still hoping you will review "The Sound and the Fury" sometime in the near future. My favorite book.

[@ainslie187]

Funnily enough, Franzen has promoted the Australian novel _The Man Who Loved Children_ by Christina Stead on a number of occasions.

[@gondwanaman9362]

Your videos are oddly soothing. Idk why, maybe it's the daytime setting and light, personality, the books... Great videos man!

[@reclaimedandrested]

Hey Cliff, here’s the Great American Novel from the African American perspective: Ralph Ellison’s The Invisible Man. I’d be curious about your thoughts on it compared to Richard Wright’s Native Son. I have hilariously noticed while most Black people I know love Ellison’s take, our Caucasian brethren tend to appreciate Native Son more... on topic I thought Freedom was essentially about gentrification

[@thomaskember4628]

It's great to find someone who thinks about D H Lawrence the way I do. When i was very young, his books were all "must" books. If you hadn't read any of them or were not in the process of doing so, then you couldn't have a serious literary discussion.The exception at the time was Lady Chatterley's Lover which was banned. Later on, after the ban was lifted, a girlfriend lent it to me and I must say I enjoy it, the only D H Lawrence I have. Also, talking about freedom I like a quote from Isaac Singer. "We have to believe in free will, we have no choice!".

[@x0rn312]

I love America too and I love your channel, you're fantastic!

[@MrSwisha18]

Funny enough, Infinite Jest deals with "freedom" in a very similar way.

[@MiiMii267]

I'm so glad I discovered this channel! Loved listening to your views of one of my all time favourite books

[@dfgsdfhgdhggdffgfhds]

Why don't you like DFW? I'm not a fan of him as a person, but I do love his writing. Infinite Jest is one of the best books I've read, Oblivion being a close second. But to contextualize that 'one of the best books i've read realm', among them is: CivilWarLand in Bad Decline, The Corrections, A Tale of Two Cities, The Tin Drum, Maus, Daytripper, A Farewell to Arms, Heart of Darkness.

[@PileofLavender]

I love the intro so much! It's comfy, and makes me feel at home.

[@BetterThanFoodBookReviews]

Great - Thank you for watching.

[@RKIII]

I am a HUGE DFW fan. I was slightly shocked you didn't like him, but I should've figured because you love Ellis so much. Anyways, I was curious if you have ever consider reviewing graphic novels for your channel. I love reading Chris Ware's graphic novels and many others, but I mentioned Chris Ware because I imagine he'd be the you're likeliest to review. He has created two masterpieces, Building Stories and Jimmy Corrigan, that have been nominated for many book awards; so I'm wanting to know what you consider a book and not a book. Is a book defined by the fact it is words on paper with a cover? If it is, then it would be an injustice to not consider Ware's graphic novels as books because he is one of the few great American authors we still have.

[@grieverlee]

Interested to know a bit more about your opinion of DFW's stuff

[@SidLaw500]

Excellent, entertaining review as usual. I read Franzen's The Corrections, an ambitious, in stretches super intense read (love triangle)...overall high quality enough that I will read Freedom. As far as D. H. Lawrence is concerned, I've never read anything but Lady Chatterley's Lover , but I thought it was an amazing read. Give it a try!

[@rayanknezic8682]

What is freedom....great conversation Starter this Christmas for family dinner on zoom.

[@Roderik46]

Great video, really liking the way you're doing them now, even more than before. btw i'd appreciate a more extended review of Borges' Fictions. and a review of Naked Lunch

[@BetterThanFoodBookReviews]

I think both of those are EXCELLENT ideas. Thanks

[@rubeng9092]

What is it with DFW which makes you dislike his writing so much?

[@viniciusferreiradasilva8348]

Loving the new format. Keep it up. I'd recommend reading any Saramago novel and "Sleepwalking Land". All great.

[@BetterThanFoodBookReviews]

Saramago's been up there for 'most recommended author' along with Pynchon, I'm going to have to do it.

[@kurth6595]

Better Than Food: Book Reviews Saramago's All the Names is one the best books I read this year. Highly recommended and I'll definitely be getting to more of his work.

[@whitetuxmafiaandfilms5042]

Man, wish you could have told me how to shut down a family event before thanksgiving. There is always next year.

[@Baker-m9y]

Tell them all you're a vegan that will do it.

[@whitetuxmafiaandfilms5042]

Francesca Steele Actually one of the MANY MANY MANY reasons why I hate having Thanksgiving with my family is because the people who host are vegan

[@TheVampB]

Tell them you love hunting then.

[@ANPHKI]

My friend, nice to see you are interested in philosophy. Trying to finish my dissertation on the concept of personhood in the phenomenology of Husserl. Did you yourself study it in the Uni? Those very basic, fundamental, almost aphoristic sort of dinner table discussions on philosophy are the worst, I had to learn to categorically deny any glimpse of that when it comes to visiting relatives. Sometimes it's best to leave Metaphysics for some other occasion, than family occasions. Learnt the hard way.

[@eldenoaasil7757]

So happy to find your channel! I've been looking for something like that for years! Finally a "booktube" channel that suits my literary tastes! This comment is totally useless, just to express my joy

[@BetterThanFoodBookReviews]

Your expression of joy is the opposite of useless. Have a great day and see you around

[@Voltanaut]

So a year was spent writing the book. What was the other 7 years spent doing?

[@beenbyrd]

Dude, the channel is still so rad! Loving the changes!

[@BetterThanFoodBookReviews]

Thanks man - onward and upward.

[@mestream91]

nice intro, standing today!

[@BetterThanFoodBookReviews]

khalid mughrabi my back feels SO much better...helps you think. I recommend doing it as much as you can. Thanks for watching!

[@adam5588]

Great video again - keep up the great work!!!

[@Provocateur991]

Funny enough the excerpt from the book that you chose for your video was one of my favorites.

[@briangallagher3106]

No mention of Steinbeck?

[@eddywang7171]

What do you think of New Sincerity? And would you characterize Franzen alongside people like Zadie Smith, Tao Lin and Dave Eggers, as part of the movement?

[@BetterThanFoodBookReviews]

eh

[@whatupdude96]

What's your beef with DFW?

[@alfonsojimenez8840]

Been waiting all week for your latest video entry. I just bought this book last weekend at a discount book shop out in Nevada City. The city is great, has book shops and coffee houses, I recommend visiting if you find yourself in NortCal. I was commenting to my girlfriend that many fellow writers openly hate on Jonathan Franzen. I'm not sure why this is.

[@BetterThanFoodBookReviews]

Let em. Their loss. Thanks for watchin man.

[@hamishsmith734]

Awesome video! If you are looking for the great australian novel I would strongly recommend Wake in Fright By Kenneth Cook it's a super quick read and definitely in my top ten favourite books ever

[@metube7332]

The entire time I read the Corrections all I could picture Chip as was Mr. Clifford here. Same vibes and I mean that as a compliment.

[@ashgiri94]

The answer, of course, is Moby Dick.

[@artificialescapades2323]

What about The Great Gatsby or Huckleberry Finn?

[@hermanmelville3871]

Thank you, sir.

[@ashgiri94]

I'd put Huck Finn second and Gatsby third. The question I ask myself is this: which American work do we want to export to the world? what is our strongest literary contribution?

[@victorp7587]

Hey man, love your videos. Just a question, do you have a Goodreads account that one can follow? All the best from Sweden!

[@GabeinBabylon]

Brilliant insights. Always eager to pounce on your new videos in my subscriptions. Cheers, man. We appreciate ya~.

[@BetterThanFoodBookReviews]

Thanks Gabriel - glad it's useful, I appreciate you as well of course.

[@jamescolbourne8298]

Why so melodramatic cliff?

[@treyrogge9675]

I don't know if someone's mentioned him, but would you be down for reviewing some José Saramago? Maybe Blindness or The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis (especially since it relates to Fernando Pessoa)

[@david500006]

Or All the Names. Such a phenomenal piece of work...

[@blodwynswayze1531]

oh this book made me cry

[@jcrass2361]

Intro, very nice! And yes, structure structure structure. I'm limiting drinking because I'm not smoking. It..feels...great. Keep it up man.

[@BetterThanFoodBookReviews]

Good. Do that more. Make small increments. Get stronger. All the power to you.

[@ItsVyy]

Is it possible for Melville to be making an appearance on this channel

[@hermanmelville3871]

Only in the comments section, apparently. I keep recommending Robert Stone works, but it seems to have gone unheeded.

[@deborahshayne1387]

Norman Mailer? A great American novelist?

[@timkjazz]

Franzen is tremendous, now read The Corrections, it's even better than Freedom. The great American novel is Gravity's Rainbow or Blood Meridian or Moby Dick or The Sound and the Fury or Huckleberry Finn or Beloved or Underworld or To kill A Mockingbird or A Confederacy of Dunces or....... 20 other titles that come to mind, each one worthy in their own way. An impossible. The great Australian novel is Illywhacker by Peter Carey.

[@estebanmejia3473]

I see you everywhere, in good literature videos. Do you still think Franzen is a must read? I'm a bit hesitant

[@timkjazz]

@@estebanmejia3473 Yes, The Corrections is a must read.

[@estebanmejia3473]

@@timkjazz than you so much for answering both of my comments. I'm hesitant about Franzen because everyone hates him now and that he's only a writer for white middle class American. I'm from Latin America, so my concern is that maybe I wouldn't be able to connect with his work

[@timkjazz]

@@estebanmejia3473 nonsense, read the twenty-seventh city, start there.

[@estebanmejia3473]

@@timkjazz can I ask you about Gaddis too? Would JR be a nice place to start? How would you rank his books?

[@thomastheobscure351]

Dear Master of belles-lettres, could you recommend any FEMALE author of short stories, contemporary with Carson McCullers, Flannery O'Connor, Eudora Welty, Clarice Lispector, Katherine Anne Porter, Caroline Blackwood or Patricia Highsmith?

[@BetterThanFoodBookReviews]

See Kyle Eve Babitz and Anais Nin

[@thomastheobscure351]

Looks promising! Much obliged, looking forward to your future videos!

[@dervla95]

Man, I'm glad I'm not the only one who dislikes D.H. Lawrence. It's a shame because I wanted to like him (simply because I wanted to read Anais Nin's book on him). I could revisit to see if my opinion has changed but as you said "life is far too short to read bullshit or D.H. Lawrence". Haha thanks for another great review, I'll definitely pick this one up if I see it around. I enjoyed your commentary on placing restrictions on yourself -- I've never thought about freedom like that before, but it's very true. Keep up the great content!

[@BetterThanFoodBookReviews]

Thank you - Nin is coming. She's the best.

[@djpeanutbutterjelly]

I finished Purity, Franzen's most recent novel, late September of this year. It was my first foray into his work, and I must say that I really wasn't impressed. I've heard that the reception to that book was lukewarm in comparison to his others, but certainly a very poor introduction to his work; it seemed thematically obvious, and while parts were very gripping I found the language and structure very predictable and bland. I've also heard that Franzen made a conscious decision to make the language of Purity far less flowery, simply telling a story the entire time, but the complexity of the narrative made that approach for me rather repetitive. Not a bad book by any means, certainly worth checking out for Franzen aficionados (though I'm sure they've either already read it or have it fairly high on their to-do list), and I will definitely be checking out Freedom or The Corrections in the near future, but I was just very disappointed by Purity.

[@BetterThanFoodBookReviews]

It's in the mail, who knows, hope I don't share your feeling, still recommend this highly, thanks for watching Dylan.

[@ReadRemark]

Dylan Baldwin Agree. I'm glad I read Purity, but it was tiresome and so hard to like any of the characters. That's not necessarily a prerequisite to a good book, but it's tough to spend so much time and brainpower on abhorrent people. It was kind of...delicious, though, to hear Pip's mom's quirks. Wowee.

[@trevorhendry3456]

Keep it up Cliff, this continuously one of favorite channels!

[@BetterThanFoodBookReviews]

Thanks Trevor!

[@jebb671]

Ever tried reading Proust?

[@BetterThanFoodBookReviews]

Thought about doing Swanns way this month.

[@erikmuhs5156]

Great review man! I love the new intro

[@Roderik46]

what a shame I can't contribute on Patreon, i'd be very interested in those videos

[@Nurgle523]

"No one ever needs to go searching for the heart of Norway. Or looks for the soul of Mozambique. They know what they are." -American Gods

[@waseemrashid4519]

Do In The Light of What We Know

[@ahmedsuperman1]

A suggestion good sir : The heavenly table by Donald Ray Pollock.

[@irena7777777]

I'm looking forward to reading this. I love Westerns

[@leonismint]

The hair's looking fucking slick in the video you old dog. Thanks for another book I have to buy just because you've reviewed it! Yet to be disappointed, just finished Stoner the other day

[@BetterThanFoodBookReviews]

Yeaaaaah still so damn good. Thanks for watchin

[@keenandemarsico4046]

to my fellow betterthanfood fan-absolam, absolam is our greatest novel-trust me

[@BetterThanFoodBookReviews]

I know I'm gettin to it I swear - can't wait

[@bens9517]

Just finished Freedom. Dammit Bobby quit killing those birds!!

[@kanki183]

There is nothing like the Great American novel,the great french novel,the British novel etc.,It came I guess from USAs need in 19th century to catch up with European literature by creating 'American' classics.That obsession to a certain extent still persists.

[@1m2a3t4t5]

Not sure if thats true about humans being the only thing willfully able to sabotage itself, other animals have been thought/known to commit suicide, particularly those living in inhumane conditions from people.

[@VertPimpin]

1m2a3t4t5 insects commit suicide as well. I think the importance is the understanding of death, and sabotaging yourself knowing how it will all end. Animals don't have the same conscious understanding of death.

[@mattrosk8663]

Hemingway had a good relationship w his dad

[@Alexj420]

Do Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon

[@VertPimpin]

Eyy Pynchon is the man.

[@taylorchumis4145]

Your vague animosity towards DFW that comes out only in little pieces in your book reviews reminds me of being at a large family get-together and bearing witness to a decades-long grudge between two aunts that I've never met before, I don't mean that in a bad way, it cracks me up lol

[@thembamabona9809]

Loved most all of the authors and novels mentioned BUT it was disconcerting how not a single female or Asian- or African American author ever came up for consideration for "Great American novel", neither T. Morrison, Ursula K. LeGuin nor Percival Everett nor etc. ...it was flat out weird.

[@thembamabona9809]

...but the 27th City and Purity are both awful, which is why I'm hesitant about wasting any more time on JF. Whereas any reluctance about DFW, rest assured, is entirely misplaced.

[@CosmosArchipelago]

BecUse their garbage. Dumb ass shitlib

[@apope06]

Dude. Big fan of your videos..but you look like Bradley Cooper here😂

[@TheOutlawed1000]

Speak for yourself. I'm never gonna diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

[@Mr.Pink1996]

I love D.H. Lawrence! His poetry is his best work.

[@tolliverarmstrong425]

third

[@ethanpinch1577]

oprah book tripe. all this 'read this and it will teach you how to live' crap is wearing a bit thin now mate

[@VertPimpin]

ethan pinch lol we're not reading self-help books man.. why read if you don't want to get anything out of it?

[@ethanpinch1577]

VertPimpin theres nothing to get out of this book because its simply a bad book. It's this channel rather, that continues to hagiographise.

[@ethanpinch1577]

VertPimpin also; art- even great art, is not supposed to tell you how to live. anyone who thinks that simply doesnt understand art or is themselves a bad artist.

[@aristotle4048]

Sure know how to sell a book