A character driven book, with good character development. Many members of our group had a hard time relating to any of the characters in the book, which made it a less enjoyable read.

Overall, I'm not sure what I think about this book and the writer. Definitelty unique and it certainly gave us a lot to discuss at our book club meeting.

Despite the brilliant writing, Franzen panders to the most base and ugly stereotypes of aging, and of mental illness. Depressing, lacking plot, tedious and totally lacking redemptive qualities.

the novel was very slow reading and very depressing, speaking of a very dysfunctional family from early on to the grown up years. Jonathan Franzen is known for writing very deep though provoking novels but if you are looking for enjoyment while you read, don't look here.

I couldn't find anything redeeming about any of the characters. They were all flawed to the max, mean-spirited and spiteful. Although it was well-written, I found it very frustrating.

I found this book long, poorly organized and depressing. A basic complaint would be there are no "chapters" and just goes on and on and on. A complaint about the content would be that the characters are cruel, the father's illness is disturbing and depressing. Not my cup of tea.

I thought the 500+ page book could have been condensed into 200 pages and would have been a better read.

I was curious to see what happened in the end, but I can't say I would recommend it to anyone.

So bad I stopped reading it halfway through. Depressing and uncomfortable...

Although the author is undisputedly brilliant, this is a hard book to get through and can be confusing in its complexity. It is worth the read, but don't expect it to be easy. It can be very funny in places and also disturbing. It may make almost anyone's dysfunctional family look good!

Everyone who read it hated it!! F+