The Corrections
The Corrections is a novel of social criticism by American author Jonathan Franzen. It won the 2001 National Book Award for Fiction.
The book revolves around the troubles and strife of the American Lambert family, and the travails of their attempts to organise for one last Christmas together.
Albert Lambert, the patriarch, suffers from Parkinson's disease and dementia. Enid, his long-suffering wife, suffers from Albert, both vocally and perhaps unfairly. Gary, the eldest Lambert son, is attempting to cope with both an unwanted depression and the machinations of maintaining a happy family. Chip, the middle child, is a politically correct university lecturer whose unfortunate predilection for attractive young girls lands him in a world of self-loathing and financial difficulty, and, eventually, Lithuania. Denise, the youngest of the family, is successful in her career as a chef, but unsuccessful in fulfilling her mother's requests of finding a nice young midwestern man to marry, not least as she begins to question her sexuality.
Alongside the family dramas, the novel has an undercurrent of social commentary, taking in the topics of globalisation, the spread of technology, and the changes in family values over the years, amongst others.
