Leigh reviewed on + 378 more book reviews
*****Spoiler Alert*****
Three weeks ago I woke up and simultaneously realized I was in a long-term S&M relationship, I was unhappy, and I had to see it through to the end. The clincher was that the relationship was with this Franzen book that I was determined to finish. No matter how hard I tried I just couldn't change it - Franzen would lead me on and torture me, teasing me with a plot, taking me to the edge with interest and getting me wrapped up in a character only to drop me hard with the end of a chapter and start cold and impersonal with the next. I hated him. He'd do it over and over. And I'd keep letting him. It was emotional torture. Denise and Robin's relationship had nothing on his and mine.
Finally it got so that my heart just wasn't in it anymore. I couldn't follow Chip to Lithuania or Gary back to St. Jude for Christmas. I didn't even care if Enid would stay addicted to illegal drugs. Alfred's awkward enema scene in the basement did nothing for me. I didn't care about this family; their problems seemed petty. I just wanted it all to end. All the characters got what they deserved in the end - shells of lives.
I don't plan on going back to Franzen. But never say never.
Three weeks ago I woke up and simultaneously realized I was in a long-term S&M relationship, I was unhappy, and I had to see it through to the end. The clincher was that the relationship was with this Franzen book that I was determined to finish. No matter how hard I tried I just couldn't change it - Franzen would lead me on and torture me, teasing me with a plot, taking me to the edge with interest and getting me wrapped up in a character only to drop me hard with the end of a chapter and start cold and impersonal with the next. I hated him. He'd do it over and over. And I'd keep letting him. It was emotional torture. Denise and Robin's relationship had nothing on his and mine.
Finally it got so that my heart just wasn't in it anymore. I couldn't follow Chip to Lithuania or Gary back to St. Jude for Christmas. I didn't even care if Enid would stay addicted to illegal drugs. Alfred's awkward enema scene in the basement did nothing for me. I didn't care about this family; their problems seemed petty. I just wanted it all to end. All the characters got what they deserved in the end - shells of lives.
I don't plan on going back to Franzen. But never say never.
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