This book review gets personal.

I just finished Franzen's Freedom. It deserves the hype. He has this way of writing about the background hum that drives us humans. His books aren't about actions or fables (and therefore won't translate to the big screen) but about themes (in this case: "freedom") and that is a hard thing to pull off. I'm impressed. (Then again, I'm fascinated by the way people interact and how they can hurt each other.)

I devoured the first 7/8 ths of the book in ten days and dragged the last 30 pages out over a week because I didn't want it to end. I finished the last page at my desk in my big, open-pit of cubes and hid my tears behind my reading glasses.

The story: it's about a family and it's about a marriage that falls apart and so it was poignant to 50% of the rest of the U.S. but especially to me.

SPOILER ALERT:
The characters: The withdrawn, but adoring husband who is overly dedicated to his career and acquiescent to his wife. The morally-wavering wife who never gives her career a chance and stays home to raise her children only to discover a deepening boredom and depression which manifests itself in alcoholism and an affair.  (Um, sound familiar?) It's like watching a train headed for a wreck for twenty five years. But here's the thing. After the inevitable separation which lasts for six silent years, the couple gets back together. That's when I cried. The Berglunds get to spend their retirement years hiking and communally witnessing the continued growth and successes of their adult children. That's what brought the tears.

A part of me still believes/hopes/wants to get back together with ex just for continuity and because we both love our boys equally fiercely. Shamefully, a small part of me hopes for a reunion so I won't have to imagine that -- like when my mother used to warn me that if I crossed my eyes they might get stuck that way -- sitting in this ubiquitous advertising-agency Aeron chair and proofing copyright lines in monitor toppers for Intel might become permanent. And there is also a part of me that will always love ex. He was a good guy and helped make two good kids.