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{{Short description|English-language novel by Franzen, published in 1992}}
{{about|a novel|information related to seismic instruments|Strong ground motion}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox book | 
| name          = Strong Motion
| title_orig    = 
| translator    = 
| image         = Strongmotioncvr.jpg
| caption = First edition cover
| author        = [[Jonathan Franzen]]
| illustrator   = 
| cover_artist  = Jacket design by [[Paul Bacon (designer)|Paul Bacon]]
| country       = [[United States]]
| language      = [[English language|English]]
| series        = 
| genre         = 
| publisher     = [[Farrar, Straus and Giroux]]
| release_date  = January 1992
| english_release_date =
| media_type    = Print ([[Hardcover|Hardback]] and [[Paperback]])
| pages         = 508 pp (first edition, hardback)
| isbn = 0-374-27105-4
| isbn_note = (first edition, hardback) 
| dewey= 813/.54 20
| congress= PS3556.R352 S7 1992
| oclc= 23287302
| preceded_by   = [[The Twenty-Seventh City]]
| followed_by   = [[The Corrections]]
}}
'''''Strong Motion''''' ([[1992 in literature|1992]]) is the second [[novel]] by [[United States|American]] author [[Jonathan 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.

==Plot summary==

Louis Holland arrives in Boston to find that a minor earthquake in [[Ipswich, Massachusetts|Ipswich]] 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, a [[Harvard]] [[seismology|seismologist]] who believes she has discovered the cause of subsequent [[earthquakes]] in Peabody. Louis, Reneé, and the Hollands' affairs become entangled with the petrochemical and weapons company Sweeting-Aldren, as well as an anti-abortion activist [[Intentional community|commune]] called the Church of Action in Christ, headed by Reverend Philip Stites.

==Critical reception==

Reception to the book was mostly positive, with critics applauding its style, ambition, and riskiness; the ''[[New York Times]]'' described it as "the stuff of several books crammed into one long, dense narrative about contemporary urban America".<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/16/books/how-capitalism-causes-earthquakes.html?n=Top%2fFeatures%2fBooks%2fBook%20Reviews| title=How Capitalism Causes Earthquakes | work=The New York Times | first=Josh | last=Rubins | date=1992-02-16 | accessdate=2010-05-24}}</ref> Negative criticism focused on a perceived lack of focus, and an attempt to interweave too many plot threads—the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' noted that "Franzen writes beautifully for the most part, though sometimes to excess".<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-02-02-bk-1762-story.html| title=Shaky Town East | work=Los Angeles Times | first=Richard | last=Eder | date=1992-02-02 | access-date=2010-05-24}}</ref>

During an interview in 2015, [[Stephen King]] said that Franzen is one of his favorite novelists working today, particularly because of King's admiration for ''Strong Motion''.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/07/books/review/stephen-king-by-the-book.html?_r=1|title = Stephen King: By the Book|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 4 June 2015}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/1992/01/20/terra-not-so-firma.html Laura Shapiro in ''Newsweek'' on ''Strong Motion'']

{{Jonathan Franzen}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1992 American novels]]
[[Category:American thriller novels]]
[[Category:Books with cover art by Paul Bacon]]
[[Category:Novels by Jonathan Franzen]]
[[Category:Novels set in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Farrar, Straus and Giroux books]]


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