Infinite Joe

I think it's a good thing that of Franzen's novels, I read this one last. If I had read it first, I may not have bothered to read the rest, which would be a shame, since The Corrections and Freedom were exceptional books, and 5-star material, in my eyes. It's not that I didn't enjoy this book, but with the large cast of characters, it took a good 200-250 pages to get into it enough, and then from there on is was good, but nothing spectacular, and certainly nothing that would make me jump at the chance to read him again. The corruption of the city, the corruption of the individual, and the public's apathy to it all were all very interesting, and relevant to today's world, and the plot was OK, but when comparing this book to his later works of brilliance, it just isn't in the same discussion.