The Literature Book

328

THERE WAS

SOMETHING HIS

FAMILY WANTED

TO FORGET

THE CORRECTIONS (2001), JONATHAN FRANZEN

T

he title of Jonathan

Fra nzen’s The Corrections

echoes that of William

Gaddis’s The Recognitions (1955),

which features a restless son

searching for authenticity and

contemplating his relationship with

his father, who is losing his mind.

As in The Corrections, the scope

of The Recognitions extends to a

wider cast of characters and tells

the story of a single family by

weaving narrative threads to

garner multiple viewpoints. Since

the late 20th century, the theme

of the dysfunctional family has

often been at the heart of work

by great American male novelists,

such as John Updike, Philip Roth,

and Don DeLillo. In addition to

Gaddis, many of them would likely

feature in Franzen’s literary ancestry.

The Corrections tells the stories

of the Lamberts: Alfred and Enid

and their adult children Gary, Chip,

and Denise. This is a family tested

by individual needs set against

differing notions of the familial

unit, values, and rights—all played

out against a backdrop of a US

economy dominated by capitalist-

driven high-tech and financial

sectors. As the saga unfolds, the

text achieves acute political and

social insights, touching on wide-

ranging themes, from financial

misdoings and gun death to food

and children’s literature.

Suspense and narrative drive

come from the family’s attempt to

have “one last” Christmas together

and the unfolding brutality of

degenerative disease. The personal

lives of the main characters are all

marked by instability, whether it be

professional, romantic, or mental.

Generational change

Through his depiction of two

generations, Franzen is able to

reflect societal change over the

period of a lifetime. Alfred, the

repressed patriarch, identifies with

IN CONTEXT

FOCUS

Dysfunction in the

modern family

BEFORE

1951 In J. D. Salinger’s The

Catcher in the Rye, Holden

Caulfield is lonely and

alienated yet consumed

by thoughts of his family.

1960 The first novel of John

Updike’s “Rabbit” series is

published, dramatizing family

turmoil in contemporary

America.

1993 In The Virgin Suicides,

Jeffrey Eugenides tracks the

unexplained suicides of five

teenage sisters.

AFTER

2003 In We Need to Talk about

Kevin, Lionel Shriver tackles the

subject of parenting a child who

becomes a mass murderer.

2013 Theo Decker, the narrator

of Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch,

describes a family shattered

by alcoholism and loss.

He became agitated

whenever they were going

to see their children.

The Corrections

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