Negative Positive
Title: Competent for what it is
Review: Franzen's first novel, like his others, are competent page-turners, if often a bit long-winded--essentially mass-market paperback airplane reading material in the guise of neo-Delillo Literary Fiction. Franzen's gotten some good breaks in the press with the help of supportive publishers, editors, agents, and others. Which is also why the media hype surrounding him is spin, and he falls far short of the two writers he seems to most wish to be--Fitzgerald and Delillo--though if you compare him with his true peers, the Robert Ludlams, etc., he's a captivating read. Just don't read too much into it (pun intended)--it's not there.
Is the review positive or negative? 