Sometimes you pay a price for loyalty and seeking completion. Nine days into our holiday I completed “Strong Motion” which appears to be Jonathan Franzen’s first novel and I found myself questioning my decision to read his books in reverse order, even at $7.95, discounted from $22.
To make a reasonable quote out of it, it felt like the Hardy Boys on enviro-steroids as the surprisingly unlikeable seismically qualified Renee and selfish lovestruck Louis expose bad corporate waste disposal practices that end up befouling Boston. It felt like teenage fiction after my recent Patrick White experience, and I’m glad to be rid of it. Onwards and upwards from here – 2 stars.