The Corrections
Jonathan Franzen · b. 1959 · United States
Why it matters
A Midwestern family's last Christmas together becomes a panoramic reckoning with capitalism, psychiatry, and generational disappointment. Widely credited with reviving the big American family novel.
At a glance
family sagasatire
Difficulty 6/10medium pace568 pagesLong digressive sentences and shifting close-third perspectives across a large family.
Deep dive
What the title's 'corrections' actually turn out to be once you notice how small and how late they arrive for every Lambert.
Where to go next
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