Book: Purity
Author: Jonathan Franzen
Purity may not be for everyone as it is a long book with complex, multi-layered characters, plots and subplots.
There are also several themes and not all characters are particularly likeable.
I enjoyed Purity, however if you want to feel cosy and satisfied immediately, it is likely you will grow impatient with this novel.
Characters get introduced periodically, the reader stays with them long enough to get connected, as I did, but then they drop away until a later stage.
Therefore, this is a book that I advise reading quickly and regularly to keep character status and plot fresh in your mind.
If like me, you enjoy the numerous character introductions and various storylines in a book that gradually build up to the reader learning how it all ties in and intertwines, Purity will be a good read for you.
The two main characters in the story are Purity, who is named Pip for short, and Andreas Wolf who runs The Sunshine Project, which is a Wikileaks of sorts.
Pip has a significant amount of student debt and is searching for her father who she never knew, plus her mother is very secretive yet she is the only person Pip trusts, which I find odd.
One gripe I have with this novel is that while it is a good story and I like the writing style of various storylines and characters intertwining in some way, shape or form, as a reader you have to be patient enough to wade through the bloated summary and backstory within the backstory, while still remembering what’s going on when the real time story resumes.
I have read books in the past that do this very well, but they were definitely much
lighter reads.
Over all Purity is well-written, the plot is delightfully twisted and the characters are definitely well developed and believable.
Pick up a copy of Purity by Jonathan Franzen at Jashanmal in City Centre Bahrain or Seef Mall for BD10.100.
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