In one short paragraph. Overloaded innit
Lol - I know I'm not the most concise poster either. But fiction is a different 'kettle of fish'.
I wanted to say this earlier but ran out of time. It is about the last line.
"He poured a smallish brandy nightcap while Enid, with
unhappy stabbing motions, scraped waterlogged food scraps from the bottom of the sink."
Is 'unhappy' necessary? Who stabs at food in a kitchen context in a positive way in fiction? No one. As soon as a character is stabbing at food any reader knows for sure they are unhappy, tense, angry or frustrated.
Also, 'motions'. We know stabbing is a motion. Another superfluous word.
Waterlogged is questionable. So too is specifying the bottom. (if the reader interprets the food scraps being stabbed at as resting on the top or side of the sink is Enid's frame of mind lost on the reader? - No.)
There are some decent lines in the book. But, I'm thinking of 2 or 3 - after 270 odd pages. Whereas most paragraphs have some overcooked descriptive work or a clanger that makes me wince.
I'm just really disappointed because I thought he was 'serious' - but the book so far just seems indulgent. I'm not a purist for concrete prose or anything. But with Franzen I just don't feel his style serves anything other than to reflect his rather acute background and delight those few who identify with the (endless superfluous) details.