I started writing a post on Jonathan Franzen's new book, Freedom: A Novel, on August 16th. That's when I started seeing intriguing hints about the book around the web. I didn't end up hitting the publish button, because I hadn't read the book. I really hate writing posts on books that I haven't read. But there's demand for a Franzen post, so I thought I would simply pass on the reviews and the controversy.

In a nutshell, critics are deeply adoring this book. The backlash has already begun.

Here's a video book review in the Washington Post, if you can't handle reading.

http://specials.washingtonpost.com/mv/embed/?title=%27Freedom%27%20video%20book%20review%20with%20Ron%20Charles&stillURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fwp-dyn%2Fcontent%2Fphoto%2F2010%2F08%2F30%2FPH2010083003914.jpg&flvURL=%2Fmedia%2F2010%2F08%2F30%2F08302010-14v.m4v&width=480&height=270&autoStart=false&clickThru=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fwp-dyn%2Fcontent%2Fvideo%2F2010%2F08%2F30%2FVI2010083003847.html

Here's Franzen himself talking about author videos and "books as the quiet alternative."