Local Motion

It's hard to imagine a more appropriate locale than Cambridge, Massachusetts, as the setting for the conglomeration of 90s woe so adroitly depicted in Jonathan Franzen's new novel Strong Motion. Against the backdrop of eccentric Cambridge, Franzen tells the story of a young man's struggle to reconcile his idealism in a corrupt and continually disappointing world, capturing the social ailments of our society in both a humorous and candid light.

Louis Holland--a post-pubescent Holden Caulfield of the Nuclear Age, pasty white and forever dressed in black jeans and a white T-shirt--arrives in Somerville at age 23, cynical, disgusted with the frivolous expenditure of the late 20th century and braced for a life of meager existence. Shortly thereafter, he finds his stint at a local radio station cut short when the Church of Action in Christ, an organization tormenting abortion clinics across the Bay State Area, buys it out from his liberal boss.

Louis must simultaneously deal with his mother's $22 million inheritance from an ethically questionable chemical company once operated by his grandfather. Fuel to the fire comes in the form of a peculiar series of earthquakes which are beginning to threaten the New England area. And if that weren't enough, Renee--an older, unattractive, brilliant and insecure Harvard seismologist with strong feminist tendencies, whom Louis finds himself falling reluctantly in love with--discovers that these turbulent terrestrial tremors could very well be the result of the avaricious and corrupt conduct of Louis' grandfather and his cohorts.

At first glance, this imbroglio seems altogether annoying, as though the author has managed to gather up every PC gripe, put it in a pile, shove it in your face and then expect you to feel guilty. But in fact, the novel has the opposite effect. Franzen addresses the issues of the nineties with a sense of humor and honesty that sharpens interest, awareness and concern. He is able to articulate successfully sex and societal concerns. He craftily maneuvers his voice and his rich characters under your skin.

Strong Motion

By Jonathan Frazen

Farrar Straus Giroux, Publishers

$22.95

Franzen's voice is frank and effective. Although Strong Motion is Louis Holland's story, it is also the collective story of many young Americans today, making the book a subtle and entertaining success. Coincidences that might seem more fitting for "Dynasty" make sense in this context because they encompass human experience. The story transcends itself, becoming symbolic of the times.

Finally, Franzen's decision to juxtapose personal and societal issues in the schizophrenic Cambridge Boston area could not be more appropriate. Home to conservatives and liberals, wealthy and poor, intellectual and working class, the setting reinforces the driving force behind Strong Motion--that people, issues and places are not black and white.

Like the city of Cambridge, Franzen's characters embody many different facets and textures. His religious fundamentalist, Reverend Stites, is kind and smart. No matter how hard you try, you just can't hate him. Louis' sister Eileen--a B-School alum--is greedy and conniving, but she is more like a lost and pathetic child than anything else.

Franzen's characters are fallible; we can relate to them and forgive them. He renders them in a unique voice, which is humorous, moving and which always epitomizes the times.

Franzen, who himself lived and worked at Harvard in the seismology lab, is definitely writing in his element. He captures the age of the nineties with its many different faces. What initially seems like a politically correct analysis of the ailments of society turns out to be a subtle joke on political correctness and a lesson for all: The world doesn't fit into the stereotypes so loosely applied these days. More often than not, people and issues reside in a gray area. Full of strong motions and emotions, Franzen's novel will send a few ripples your way.