The Corrections

I just finished reading Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections after my sister finally put it down last week. I loved it. Why? There are books that are sometimes chilling to read, mainly because the characters and the shit that happens to them are a reflection of your own life. But these books are also the best ones to read, because every page gets you worked up until you realize you've finished the whole thing and can't help but want for more.

I, for one, can see myself in Chip and Denise (not Gary, never Gary). These two have done everything in their power to leave home, live their lives away from the claws of their overbearing mother, and not feel guilty about not spending enough time with their aging parents.

The book accurately translated the dilemma between giving up your life to be in someone else's and starting your own life the way you think you should.

I have seen my mom and her siblings stay here in our ancestral home with my grandparents, unable or unwilling to move someplace else. I have witnessed them one too many times trying to seek my Lola's approval on matters that they, as adults, should have settled on their own. Everything revolves around this house, this life, and I can't count the number of arguments and issues they've weathered in bids to become the most favorite child. When the going gets tough, there are always musings of breaking away and living someplace else.

And yet, I know for a fact that they would never ever leave this place, their mother. But I DO know for a fact that in a year or two, I will leave this house and start a life of my own away from my dysfunctional extended family. I will always come back, but never permanently. I don't need a correction to figure that one out.