The NewYorkTimes recently described Jonathan Franzen’s new novel “a masterpiece of American fiction”. Like his previous bestseller, The Corrections, it has the potential to become one of the most powerful narratives of its age. Written in the months that followed the election of Barack Obama, Freedom tells the story of Minneapolis couple Patty and Walter Berglund who are both stuck in a zone of non-communication and inner anger and turmoil. As the Bush years post-September 11, 2001, tick over, cracks emerge in the Berglund family fabric; how Patty and Walter and their two children respond to America’s new conservatism is dark and, at times, deeply disturbing.