Book Review: Jonathan's Franzen's Freedom

Sorry for the radio silence -- Thanksgiving really took it out of me. (The food was excellent -- may have eaten too much.) Just got back from a workshop at Stanford, where we had a mini Cosmic Variance gathering, since I saw both Daniel and Risa. Had JoAnne not been delayed on her flight back to California, we might have been able to get four co-bloggers in the same room for probably the first time ever. Since today is Casual Friday, I'd like to put science aside and do a review of Jonathan Franzen's new book, Freedom: A Novel. I am hampered in that goal by the fact that I haven't read the book, and don't plan to any time soon. (I think Franzen is a great writer, but I'm very behind in my reading list.) So instead I'll outsource this one to Washington Post book reviewer Ron Charles, who delivers his critique in video format. It gives me some ideas. (Hat tip to Ariel Kalil.)