The Discomfort Zone, (Paperback)

from satyridae

I found this memoir to be choppy and disconnected, more like a series of articles than a sustained narrative. The writing is clear and well-executed, Franzen's voice is unique and the stories approachable. I want to read The Corrections next, I've heard good things about it.

from spacecommuter

Just because it's a book doesn't mean you have to read all of it. As far as I can tell there are three parts to this: a stunning and completely self-contained first chapter on putting his mother's house for sale after her death, an incredibly long series of chapters on his church youth group, and...

from LibraryCin

3.25 stars This is a series of little snapshots of the author's life, mostly when he was a child or teenager, but it does extend a little beyond that. It's not really a complete bio, it is just vignettes. I was really mixed, there were chapters I liked - my favourite was the bird chapter - and ot...

from novelcommentary

Because The Corrections was one of my favorite books, I thought I would enjoy this memoir about Franzen growing up in St. Louis. The beginning, the narrator returning home to sell the family home after the death of his mother, had promise: a good narrative voice and the kind of reflection that I ...

from WholeHouseLibrary

I have the audio version of this book – 6 CDs, which was fairly accordant with the commute I'm doing lately. I almost bought the hardcover when it first came out, but there were other priorities at the time, and opted for the audio version when I started having reason to spend a lot of time in my...