I came to this by way of Moody, Wallace, Powers, and company, but Franzen is a very different type of writer. His prose is a lot less brilliant than the others. He's much more of a classical story-teller.It's the plot of this novel that gives it a bit of an edge. I can sort of understand how some people might find it dull, especially if they're looking for suspense, but this isn't that type of novel. In a way, it is the opposite of "magical realism": instead of using elements of fantasy to tell a realistic story, Franzen uses realism to tell a fantastic story, And he does it very well.