I have Jonathan Franzen on my “to try” list for quite awhile and recently came across Agreeable while looking for short stories at The New Yorker. I figure that this would be a good start to exploring Franzen.
Patty grew up in 1970’s Westchester County, New York and was the oldest of four children. She was great in school at academics but was an overachiever in sports and was on many different teams. Her mother, Joyce Emerson was a “professional Democrat” and didn’t like Patty’s competitive streak.
“I’m not sure it’s a good idea to be encouraging so much aggression and competition. I guess I’m not a sports fan, but I don’t see the fun in defeating people just for the sake of defeating them. Wouldn’t it be much more fun to all work together?”
By the time Patty was in high school, Joyce was an state assemblywoman, the Honourable Joyce Emerson and had little time for Patty. Patty’s father, Ray was a lawyer and also had little time for his children. When Patty was 17 she had a horrendous life changing event happen at a party.
This was a well written and thought provoking story. The reader is made witness of how Patty’s parents act and treat her when the terrible act occurs. It really could happen in any family and actually has. Agreeable seems to be the way Patty takes her parents advise on the issue. As a reader and human being, I must strongly object.
This story makes me want to explore Jonathan Frazen’s works further. You can read the story at The New Yorker.
Copyright 2007-2010: All the posts within this blog were originally posted by Teddy Rose and should not be reproduced without express written permission.