A Video Review from the Washington Post on Jonathan Franzen's Freedom

I finished reading the book earlier last month. I think that Charles' point is well raised about Franzen preaching to the converted in regards to his segues into Mountain Top Removal and the decline of the American Songbirds. That said, I very much enjoyed those same aforementioned bits, whereas Charles was moved to (and I'm quoting here) 'take a bathroom break'.

Franzen is a well-known birder and it's only natural for him to introduce an area of his expertise into Freedom. I didn't hear anyone complaining about David Foster Wallace bringing the Enfield Academy story line into Infinite Jest.

I wont spoil the ending in case you haven't gotten round to reading it quite yet -I know Acton's half way through now- but, for me, the big pay off was the last two chapters of the book. It felt like Franzen finally writing in his comfort zone.