I consider Franzen to be one of my favourite novelists.

Even though up until now I've only read "The Corrections" and "Freedom", I thought it was high time I explored his back catalogue.

I might be mistaken, but "Strong Motion" seemed to be the book where Franzen truly developed his unique voice. By the end of this book, it really felt like the Franzen I know and love.

However, it was a gradual process. I found the beginning to be rather lacklustre and at one point, I even contemplated abandoning the book.

Moreover, I also found a significant number of the characters to be quite irritating. I suspect a large part of this was due to the voices that the narrator in the audiobook assigned to them.

Nonetheless, as the story progressed, I became more engaged and started to appreciate Franzen's writing style and the depth of his characters.

I'm glad I persevered with "Strong Motion" as it has given me a greater understanding and appreciation of Franzen's body of work.

I look forward to reading more of his novels in the future and seeing how his writing has evolved over time.

Primarily, this is a thriller that delves into the realms of seismology, big corporations, and Christian fundamentalists. However, it also weaves in one or two love stories and presents various dysfunctional family relationships, along with some amusing subplots. I believe its main shortcoming lies in pandering to the American penchant for convenient endings. On a more minor note, as a British reader, some of the characters' names are initially rather misleading as they deviate so far from the stereotype associated with that name, especially Eileen.

Nevertheless, it remains a good story, featuring some wonderful writing. At times, though, Franzen's self-indulgent riffs can be excessive. The oddest instance is a three-page description of the daily life of an anthropomorphised raccoon. This rather unexpected detour can seem out of place and perhaps a bit too self-indulgent on the part of the author. Despite these flaws, the overall story still manages to engage and hold the reader's attention, with its interesting blend of different elements and themes.

The earth is far more fragile than we could ever imagine. The convulsion of the earth's crust beneath New England in the USA and the quakes in the human dramas presented in "Strong Motion: A Novel" were author Franzen's dire warnings. Was it about human capitalistic greed and irresponsible exploitation of mother earth, thereby accelerating its destruction? Or was it just another greenie's exasperated scream at the seemingly hopeless human race? Well, it was both. But aside from that, we have the captivating human interests in Franzen's brilliant dramatic tale. It's like a soap opera, but I absolutely love it. The story is about the Hollands, an upper middle class and well-educated Bostonian family. The father is a hippie professor, and the mother is from the newly rich Brahmin breed (thanks to grandpa). Both parents are underappreciated by their two young adult children. There is an intriguing web of lives revolving around the family members, stretching three generations from the grandfather to the spoilt brat son. The story culminates in quakes that shake up their lives. This is my second Franzen tale, and it's a huge leap from being impressed with the first to having great admiration for the second. There are many new and exciting discoveries of Franzen's treasures for me. Franzen reveals his animal-loving side by including both long and short observations of the behaviors of wild animals as well as domestic ones. What really grabbed my heart was a big pro-life chapter. In it, he treats us to a phenomenal dialogue between the pastor leading the pro-life movements and a 30-year-old Rene who is carrying a 5-week-old fetus she doesn't want. It's an engaging repartee, and although the pastor fails to dissuade Rene (mostly because the father has left and her heart is broken), he comes out on top in my eyes as he convinces me. The cruel irony of life is brilliantly depicted when Rene's life is involuntarily endangered and nearly expires on the very day her fetus has its life terminated against its will. Depicting yet another drama of American lives, Franzen moves us from St Louis, where we were engaged with life in "The Twenty-Seventh City: A Novel (Picador Modern Classics)", to Boston. I definitely enjoyed this second novel more because the plot and the characters are more engaging. Franzen's delectable writing style is solidified for me. I love his deadpan humor. He drops gems from time to time, using a unique linguistic style to describe a common situation or action. But one must pay close attention to spot them. A conspiracy theory about who the gun person is fuels the latter half of the book. Is it a jealous lover? Or is it corporate evil trying to silence the whistle blower? There are alternate endings to ponder upon after reading the novel.

This was truly a remarkable book!

I don't believe it would serve as an outstanding introduction to Franzen, yet overall, it wasn't bad at all.

Lately, I've been extremely tired. However, fortunately, everything really slows down this weekend, including school and all other aspects. Maybe I'll even manage to finish "Watchmen"!!

My girlfriend is currently in Hawaii, so it's rather difficult to talk to her due to the time difference and everything. My friend Claire also resides in another time zone, but we somehow make it work. Such is life!!

There's a part towards the end involving the son and the dad that is a bit dull and lengthy. But I suppose it's significant enough to the plot that it's necessary.

It's interesting how different elements in life and in this book interact. The challenges of maintaining communication with loved ones in different time zones mirror the complexity of the relationships and events in the story.

Despite the drawbacks, the book still has its merits, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it all ties together in the end.

As for this weekend, I'm hoping to take advantage of the slower pace and make the most of my time.

Whether it's finishing "Watchmen" or simply relaxing and catching up on some much-needed rest, I'm determined to make it a memorable one.

After all, in the midst of our busy lives, these moments of calm and reflection are truly precious.

This is a bit uneven, but also grew on me because of it.

The main tension lies in the fact that it can be rather plotty and deals with institutional concerns. However, it is evident that Franzen's forte is family character drama.

The strange thing is that the trouble of focus neatly exemplifies Franzen's literary moment in the 90s. We have witnessed a shift from the modernist focus on subjectivity and contribution to greater institutions, to a moment where human subjectivity is defined by the runaway institutions it lives under, and then to a new subjectivity emerging from that circumstance, like a plant from concrete.

The scheming corporations in Franzen's world are a given, but the meaning they assume in the drama of his work is simply to clarify the relationships between the characters. So, we have what is nominally a corporate thriller, complete with a confrontation with the corporate officer responsible. However, instead of it being a moralistic moment about their shirking of social responsibility, it actually becomes an indictment of the lack of filial responsibility, of dragging one's family into complacent compliance with such crimes.

In terms of actual moral and social commentary, it is basically backwards, as we can all agree. But that's only if we view it as a typical novel, which it is not. It is a choice, and I think an interesting one, to invert a corporate thriller into a family drama. After all, the drama is the more interesting part. This is not paced like a thriller at all. And Franzen is quite good at pulling together a collection of complete assholes to have at each other, which is rather entertaining. Franzen is probably much stronger and more focused in his later novels, and this one does bear the marks of a young writer's effort. Nevertheless, this one is a solid recommendation.

Reading “Strong Motion” was an absolute delight, much like indulging in an exquisite meal paired with a fine, well-aged wine. Franzen truly stands as a master of his craft.

His characters are incredibly complex and multidimensional, effortlessly drawing the reader's attention towards them. This attention is continuously fueled by the author's skillful building of expectations, enticing the reader to discover yet another aspect of each individual. Franzen tells the story from multiple people's perspectives, delving deep into their pasts to provide insights into why they are the way they are in the present. However, he does this in a very subtle manner, revealing only certain aspects and leaving it to the reader to make the connections.

The writing dynamics in “Strong Motion” seemed to mirror an earthquake chart. At various points in the story, the plot would build up to a point of escalation, creating a sense of anticipation and excitement. And then, just as suddenly, it would drop dramatically when another part of the story was told about the same or a different character. In other words, throughout the novel, there was a palpable feeling that the plot was developing like an earthquake, coming in waves.

I would wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who has a deep appreciation for good contemporary literature. It is a captivating and thought-provoking read that will surely leave a lasting impression.

If you are a fan, you will sympathize with this because the propositions that speak directly to your soul are inscribed in this book of his. It just seemed more taciturn to me than the others. My characters were unbearably antipathetic and their reactions were so close to the reactions of my family that if I loved Freedom so much because I didn't identify with any character, then I can understand why Strong Motion, which reminded me of half of my folly, gets two stars.

The storylines in this book were rather convoluted and at times, it was difficult to follow the thread of the narrative. The author's writing style, while unique, didn't always engage me as much as I would have liked.

However, there were some redeeming qualities. The descriptions of certain scenes and emotions were quite vivid, and there were a few moments that really made me stop and think. Overall, though, I can't say that this was one of my favorite reads.

Well, I managed to get through this one.

However, I'm not entirely certain how. It's not the worst thing I've ever read, but it's definitely not the greatest either.

To begin with, I really had an issue with the characterizations of the women in this book.

Every single woman in the story is either a crazy person, a drunk, a gold-digger, a flaky individual, or has some other form of neurosis.

There isn't a single strong, intelligent, independent, and neurosis-free woman in the entire book, which is an immediate letdown.

Moreover, the book is divided into sections, and only the first section is truly coherent.

After that, it sort of jumps around randomly.

At one point, the story is being told from the perspective of a raccoon, which was, to put it mildly, rather silly.

I did find a couple of parts interesting, but overall, I wasn't very impressed by it.

While I am always deeply impressed with Franzen's remarkable intellect and outstanding skill as a writer, I find myself growing increasingly weary of the cynicism that pervades his characters. This cynicism often has a dual effect on me, alternately making me loathe the characters or leading me to believe that Franzen himself does. I do, however, truly appreciate his masterful and layered character development. He has the courage to write characters that are far from perfect, that are 'messy' in their thoughts and actions, giving a voice to the less than saintly aspects of our own lives. Nevertheless, so many of Franzen's characters seem to fall into certain unappealing categories. Many of the men appear to be deeply narcissistic and inherently miserable, while the women often come across as either pathetic or one-dimensional. His female characters typically read as either shallow and materialistic, vindictive, or deeply needy and overly dependent on the men in his stories. Yet, as was the case with his other books, even as I found myself balking at some of these characterizations, I remained completely engrossed in the story. I simply had to finish what I had started. So, go figure.

Some earthquakes in Boston cause literal tremors and anxiety, and start a series of strange discoveries about what could cause these earthquakes and whether they are random, natural phenomena. This is the political and social element that exists in this book by Franzen. From there on, there is of course the social drama, with the Hollander family and its four members who, also due to the above random event, receive tremors at their foundations. Relationships are threatened, secrets are revealed, no one is safe. In all of this, of course, the element of religion and belief in general in American society is added, and all these compose the puzzle that Franzen has accustomed us to. Personally, although his formula is specific and perhaps repetitive, I love him and will probably always read what he writes, as he has this magical way of talking about so many different topics and connecting them all together. In this book, I think that the "binding" is one of his most successful and the psychological portraits of the heroes, as always to the point... simply enjoyable...

In Strong Motion, Franzen's second novel, new college graduate Louis Holland relocates to Boston to take up a minimum wage job at a radio station. An earthquake claims the life of his step-grandmother, and his mother inherits her $22 million estate. Louis has a complex and often conflicted relationship with his older sister Eileen, who is extremely mean. Eileen's boyfriend's father is associated with an evil chemicals manufacturing company that has been pumping toxic waste deep into the earth. A Harvard seismologist named Renee believes this is the cause of earthquakes in the Boston area. Louis falls in love with Renee, yet still harbors a crush from his college days. Mrs. Holland's new inheritance leads to numerous familial problems, partly due to her acquisition of a significant portion of the chemicals company's stock and Eileen's greed. The plot intensifies with a final earthquake and the actions of corporate wrongdoers who wish to harm Renee.

Grading solely on writerly talent, this would be a 4-star read. Franzen constructs some of the most skillful and comical sentences in contemporary fiction, adeptly capturing moods, people, and relationships. For example, "Louis's father, with his academic's respect for lecterns, had already taken a seat." In another scene, "She looked up at him beseechingly, leaning forward, seeming to want to pour her breasts out at his feet." He is also capable of writing long passages of seemingly effortless and ordinary prose, allowing readers to glide through them without realizing the effort involved. He writes brilliantly about human relationships and dysfunctional families, as seen not only in this novel but also in The Corrections and Freedom.

However, there is a certain squalor in his writing, both emotional and physical, that makes some readers uncomfortable. It makes one want to turn to the works of Jane Austen or Edith Wharton, which lack the graphic descriptions of acne, used tampons, or repugnant sex scenes. Additionally, the novel is about 20% too long, and there are sections, such as the discussion between Louis and Renee about music, that can feel tiresome. Franzen's attempts to incorporate sociopolitical issues into his novels are not always successful, as they sometimes seem forced and detract from the exploration of human complexity. Overall, Strong Motion is a flawed but still engaging novel that showcases Franzen's considerable talent as a writer.

The destruction brought about by Mother Nature is one matter, but a person's own self-destructive nature is an entirely different thing.

A rare earthquake in Boston serves as the true starting point of this novel. From there, we are exposed to all the flawed aspects of each character and their complicated relationships with one another and themselves. Much of this book is painfully masochistic. However, people often self-sabotage when faced with the terrifyingly real possibility of true happiness and may not have the slightest idea of what might actually make them happy in the first place. It's not tidy, it's not always beautiful, but you need the darkness to appreciate the light.

I will not provide a long description of the plot nor attempt to convey everything wonderful about the tempo, flow, and style. I know that anything I write would not do justice to the book. All I can say is that I love Franzen's ability to make me hate, understand, and ultimately love his characters.