One of our best observers and chroniclers of our culture: Franzen

Jonathan Franzen has a really good story in the current New Yorker, "Agreeable," about a jockish girl in a wealthy Westchester family where her talents are not only not appreciated but gently ridiculed by both of her parents, who are much more focused on the academically high-achieving, artistic siblings and on their own left-liberal political ambitions (or pretensions). The family is insufferable, and at first I found the story kind of a stretch, as it was hard to believe that the star athlete wouldn't get her share or more of attention and the casual cruelty of the father toward his daughter seemed beyond comprehension, but gradually I accepted the family as the aberrant, or may not-so-aberrant, monstrosity that it is - and then the story kicks into a higher gear when the daughter gets raped by a casual acquaintance, from another socially prominent, politically liberal family, at a summer pool party. Of course her parents have no idea anything's happened, only the basketball coach is aware; parents come in to the "rescue" but of course counsel daughter to just drop it, why ruin the young man's life, why pick a fight with his family, etc. Totally chilling and amazing story by the end, a kick to the gut. Franzen, for all the criticism he's gotten because of his high ambitions and his snubbing of Queen Oprah, continues to be one of our best writers in the realist mode, not just a writer but an observer and chronicler of our culture. I wish he'd get off the poor-little-rich-girl kick, but aside from that I look forward to reading his next work.