Firsts of the Year

First novel finished:

Freedom, Jonathan Franzen

(from my review at Goodreads) I’m not entirely sure why there was so much hype surrounding this particular book – maybe there are people who recognize characters in it. For me, it was a caricature of the American family – the kind of American family, in fact, that the Republicans would try to convince you we’re all becoming.

The problem with trying to make a sweeping commentary on our culture is that you’re invariably going to miss. In this case, it was an enjoyable read but nothing earth-shattering or shockingly profound. The moral of the story is that we’re all fucked up. We all make bad choices. We all live with the consequences. Plenty of writers have done better work with this in less pages.

Incidentally, I can see why the FranzenFreude started – Picoult and Weiner have both written more engaging and compelling works (If you haven’t read Good In Bed, you SHOULD) to much less acclaim.

*shrug*

First film:

Ondine

I’d read mixed reviews of this and while Spouse was wrapped up in Bowl games yesterday I watched it on Netflix streaming. 1. It’s odd to hear Colin Farrell with his native accent 2. This was a charming – but shouldn’t have been charming film.

It’s listed as sci-fi but it reminds me more of the work of Alice Hoffman – real but with fantastical elements that add to the story. No surprise, then, that I kind of loved it. A fisherman finds a woman in his net. She brings him luck by singing the fish into his boat and his sickly daughter concludes the woman is a Selkie and works to keep her.

It’s a lovely and delicate film with a satisfying conclusion. Highly recommended.