AUDIO

Strong Motion

by Jonathan Franzen
18 CDs. library ed. unabridged. 21 hrs. Brilliance Audio. 2013. ISBN 97810480518124. $49.97; 18 CDs. retail ed.; 2 MP3-CDs. library/retail eds.; Playaway digital; digital download. F
COPY ISBN
Franzen (Freedom) published this, his second novel, in 1992, well before his prize-winning work The Corrections. Despite Scott Aiello's fine narration, the stories within stories and sprawling nature of this novel make the audiobook a challenge at times. Franzen juggles plotlines dealing with environmentalism, abortion, dysfunctional families, and capitalism as his hero, Louis Holland, and Louis's girlfriend, Renee Seitchek, work to discover what is causing a series of earthquakes in Boston. Franzen make a good effort, but eventually the novel falls apart under the weight of all he has packed into it.
VERDICT Recommended for listeners interested in Franzen's early work. ["Franzen may push an occasional metaphor too far, but distractions fade in the face of fine characterizations in a context of science grounded in history with well-integrated social messages," read the more positive review of the Farrar hc, LJ 11/15/91.]
Reviewed by Wendy Galgan, St. Francis Coll., Brooklyn , Feb 07, 2014
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