 First edition cover | |
| Author | Jonathan Franzen |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Jacket design byPaul Bacon |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Farrar, Straus and Giroux |
Publication date | January 1992 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Hardback andPaperback) |
| Pages | 508 pp (first edition, hardback) |
| ISBN | 0-374-27105-4 (first edition, hardback) |
| OCLC | 23287302 |
| 813/.54 20 | |
| LC Class | PS3556.R352 S7 1992 |
| Preceded by | The Twenty-Seventh City |
| Followed by | The Corrections |
Strong Motion (1992) is the secondnovel byAmerican authorJonathan Franzen.
Strong Motion was noted by reviewers for its impassioned social criticism, the thoroughness of its research, and its treatment of controversial themes such as abortion, feminism, corporate malfeasance and exploitative capitalism.
Louis Holland arrives in Boston to find that a minor earthquake inIpswich has killed his eccentric grandmother, triggering a struggle between him, his sister Eileen, and his mother Melanie over the disposition of a $22 million inheritance. During a visit to the beach, Louis meets Dr. Reneé Seitchek, aHarvardseismologist who believes she has discovered the cause of subsequentearthquakes in Peabody. Louis, Reneé, and the Hollands' affairs become entangled with the petrochemical and weapons company Sweeting-Aldren, as well as an anti-abortion activistcommune called the Church of Action in Christ, headed by Reverend Philip Stites.
Reception to the book was mostly positive, with critics applauding its style, ambition, and riskiness; theNew York Times described it as "the stuff of several books crammed into one long, dense narrative about contemporary urban America".[1] Negative criticism focused on a perceived lack of focus, and an attempt to interweave too many plot threads—theLos Angeles Times noted that "Franzen writes beautifully for the most part, though sometimes to excess".[2]
During an interview in 2015,Stephen King said that Franzen is one of his favorite novelists working today, particularly because of King's admiration forStrong Motion.[3]
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