Market Corrections: Jonathan Franzen and the "Novel of Globalization"
2006; Indiana University Press; Volume: 29; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1353/jml.2006.0015
ISSN1529-1464
Autores Tópico(s)American Jewish Fiction Analysis
Resumothe end of the twentieth century affected by the market correction alluded to in the novel's title. There are internet technologies and the force ofthe operating system developed by the all-conquering Corporation (not M for Microsoft on, one assumes, legal advice, but W for Windows instead). There is the transformation of post-Soviet states, particularly Lithuania, and the impact of new economy money on old economy infrastructure (What survived of Midpac's trunk lines had been sold off to enable the company to concentrate on prison-building, prison management, gourmet coffee, financial services; a new 144 strand fiber-optic cable system lay buried in the railroad's old rightof-way[177]). There are observations on the ever-greater refinements of consumer society and an exploration into the potential of new and more powerful pharmaceuticals. Reflecting Franzen's stated commitment to the social novel (Perchance 37) and his belief in fictions cultural authority' (Exile 178), The Corrections thus connects the private with the public and individual psychologies with material realities.
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