I finished reading Freedom
by Jonathan Franzen on Wednesday night and have been crabby ever since. The book is that good. Devastatingly good. I finished it, and now I am mad, bereft, like he broke up with me. Yesterday, I went to the library to find someone new. Every book was stupid, like Joey, a character in Freedom, would say. After two hours I left with Jeanette Winterson's Lighthousekeeping
and The Portable Thoreau. Last night I ignored Jeanette and I started Walden because Thoreau was interested in nature and solitude, just like Jonathan. I miss him. This morning, digging around Jonathan's background, I found a dog art connection. He is a big Snoopy fan and wrote the introduction to The Complete Peanuts, Volume 4: 1957-1958
. He also wrote about his love of Snoopy in a 2004 article in The New Yorker entitled "The Comfort Zone: Growing Up With Charlie Brown." The article sheds some light on several characters and events in Freedom and also includes this quote about Dachshunds:
"We laugh at Dachshunds for humping our legs, but our own species is even more self-centered in its imaginings."
I know I'll get over him. But it will take some time. Anyone have a good book to read?
