Bookmark: "The Twenty-Seventh City" by Jonathan Franzen
Title: The Twenty-Seventh City
Author: Jonathan Franzen
ISBN: 0-312-420-145 (Picador, 2001; originally published 1988)
I tried hard to get through this novel, but apparently I didn't try hard enough: page 68 in the hardcover edition was my breaking point. I set it aside, "temporarily", in favor of some other reading material, telling myself I'd read a bit more later.
I was kidding myself. Two weeks later I admitted defeat and returned it to the library. This is a shame, because I'd recently enjoyed Franzen's "How to be Alone: Essays". Perhaps I should talk about that. But - no, this is "Bookmark: The Twenty-Seventh City". I just have to fess up and say I found it Not Much Good.
Why?
Well, besides some gimmicky plot aspects (one character designed the St. Louis Arch), I couldn't keep track of the cast of characters, and I didn't care about most of them. There was a great need for an editor, and I couldn't work up enough interest to keep me flipping the pages. I'm sure if I had written it I'd be very, very proud; but I hadn't written it, and I had to read it instead.
Anyhow if anyone enjoyed "The Twenty-Seventh City" please clue me in on the appeal of this novel. I have the feeling I'm missing out, but in the way that people who don't go to high school reunions are "missing out"; I'd rather hear about how great it was than experience it firsthand.
Bonus book link: Why Is Everybody Always Picking On Me? by BookLust.
Explanation of "Bookmark" series.
3 comments:
[A private email; I'm publishing this in the comments section, with the prior consent of its author. I've made one or two minor spelling corrections. - SD]
I know this is a bit bizarre, but you wrote in August 2005 asking readers to explain to you the appeal of "The Twenty-Seventh City," a book by Jonathan Franzen.
Now, perhaps I am a Franzen fanboy, having basically worshiped his "The Corrections," and mostly adoring "Strong Motion," but I found "City" to be quite an engaging read, and one which took me only a few days of intense reading.
It is, I will admit, a very complex novel, and probably too complex at times, but the key there is to only read when you are wide awake and able to comprehend plot lines fully. You mention "a character who designed the St. Louis Arch," which is quite obviously wrong; he did not design it, he was a general contractor who merely built the Arch, a point made quite distinctly several times in the narrative.
But, you ask what the appeal is. To me, the appeal is in how Franzen examines the American Dream. He takes a typical, boring, American town, and tears it apart in order to examine how it works. It cannot be seen as reality, in fact, it's best to see it as science fiction. It's a giant What If, in the vein of lesser novels such as Guns of the South. Who will Win Out, in the end, in a Fight between Outside Invaders and Americans? And why? I think, if you finished the novel, you would be surprised.
Anyway, I realize this is well after the fact of you writing the blog post, and you've probably already forgotten the entry, but I would say that if you have a chance, perhaps pick up the novel again. Pay most attention to the Probsts (the father, Martin, is the aforementioned builder of the Arch) and Jammu. As the novel nears its end it narrows down specifically on them anyway, and if your brain is taxed for space (I know mine is), you can easily get away with just getting a sense of the other characters.
Thanks for your time,
Gregory Harbin
Wow - Gregory, I'm bowled over by your thoughtful response.
Part of the problem may have been I was skimming this book in the bath, for the majority of my Franzen project (until I petered out). Your tip about being wide awake is well-noted, and I feel I owe it to myself to try and have another crack at it.
(Or I may turn to "The Corrections" and see how I get on with that...)
Thanks again for your thoughts.
-SD
I also understand this is belated, but I also found The Twenty Seventh City worth reading. Between Al Queda and the President claiming ever increasing powers to engage in secret surveillance, the plot actually seems less outlandish than it did when Franzen wrote the book in the 1980s.
I picked the book up thinking, based on the cover comments, that it would be a humorous look at big city politics. And, the first part of the book does have elements of Tom Wolfe lite. But, Greg is right; it is really about the Probsts - mostly the husband and wife. Even the major Indian characters seem primarily counterpoints to the Probsts. When I skimmed the book a second time, I realized that 75% of it is about the Probsts either directly or indirectly.
Admittedly, the book starts slowly While Franzen is setting the scene, but I found the pace realy accelerated over the last half. By the end, I was staying up at night to see where it ended.
But, it is the end which I found least satisfying. It was too bleak and uncertain. I felt almost as though Franzen had manipulated the plot so he could cut the last 40 pages.
Clearly, Franzen is good. How are his other books? I have resisted reading them because I was concerned that, like the Twenty Seventh City, they would leave me up at midnight depressed. I would love to discuss this book if anybody is interested.
Bill Slack
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