Freedom/Jonathan Franzen/ 562 p

Patty and Walter Berglund are a middle class couple in a reviving neighborhood. Walter is crazy about Patty even though she isn't anything like him. Patty chooses Walter as her "safe choice" rather than his bad boy roommate. Jessica is their firstborn who is everyone's idea of a perfect child. Joey is a strong willed second child who is Patty's primary focus. Their lives unravel when Joey hooks up with a neighborhood girl and moves in with her Republican family. Although I normally enjoy satire, I just didn't get this book. It was supposed to be funny but mostly it was sad. Franzen's take on the typical American middle class family bore no real point of reference within my own experience.