JONATHAN FRANZEN Freedom ****

This was the first book I read on my Kindle - and I was pleased I didn't have to lug a 570-page hardback around with me.

It's been praised to the heights on both sides of the Atlantic and lauded as the 'great American novel' of the 21st Century. And I think it probably is.

It is essentially a family story - the story of two parents, Walter and Patty, their two children, Jessica and Joey, and someone who might as well be family, Richard, who was at college with Walter and Patty. All of them are very flawed and damaged characters. Sometimes they rise above it, often they don't. Sometimes you sympathise with them, often you really dislike them and resent the time you're spending with them. But Franzen is a brilliant writer and he has you hooked.

The story is told from the point of view of the parents individually, Richard and Joey, mostly using dialogue - which Franzen is a master of. He delivers us conversations that are almost in real time - they sometimes go on for tens of pages.

The theme, as the title tells us, is Freedom. Each of the characters is struggling with the temptations and burdens of too much freedom in a world that seems more confusing by the day. The old constraints aren't there, but it doesn't seem to have made anyone happier.

It's not light reading and it's definitely not a feelgood novel. But if you're up for a challenge I think you'll find it satisfying.