Jonathan Franzen
Jonathan Franzen (born
August 17,
1959,
Chicago, Illinois) is an
American novelist and
essayist, currently living in
New York City.
Franzen's
The Corrections, a novel of social criticism, garnered considerable critical acclaim in the United States. The book was originally chosen as part of Oprah Winfrey's book club, but after Franzen expressed some concerns about the book club itself and the effect it would have,
Oprah removed the book as a selection. An article published in The Age (2006) titled 'You Go Girl' cites Franzen's concern that Oprah's book club endorsement would repel male readers, as the reason for Oprah's uninvitation.
Franzen was raised in
Webster Groves, a suburb of
St. Louis,
Missouri, and educated at
Swarthmore. He lives in
the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York and currently writes for
The New Yorker magazine.
September of 2001,
The Corrections was selected for Oprah Winfrey's book club. Franzen was, at the time, willing to participate in the selection, appearing in
B-roll footage in his hometown of St. Louis (described in
How To Be Alone's essay "Meet Me In St. Louis") and sitting down for a lengthy interview with Oprah. However, in October, an article was published in
The Oregonian which quoted Franzen as making several disparaging remarks. He expressed his irritation at the Oprah insignia being printed on his book by saying "I see this as my book, my creation, and I didn't want that logo of corporate ownership on it."
Soon afterward, Franzen was disinvited from Oprah's show with his "seemingly uncomfortable" attitude being cited as the reason.
Although the controversy arguably caused damage to Franzen's reputation, it had little effect on the sales of
The Corrections, which became one of the best-selling works of literary fiction of the 21st century.
*1988
The Twenty-Seventh City*1992
Strong Motion*2001
The Corrections -
National Book Award for Fiction
*2002
How to Be Alone, essays
*2006
The Discomfort Zone, memoir
*
Hysterical realism*
Jonathan Franzen's home pageThe Observer. 'You go, girl . . . and she went.'
The Age. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2006/01/20/1137553745680.html (21 Jan 2006)
Interviews
*
An interview with Donald Antrim, Bomb Magazine
*
An interview with Laura Miller, Salon, September 7, 2001*
An interview with Dave Weich, Powells.com, October 4, 2001*
An Interview with Todd Leopold, CNN.com, October 18, 2001*
An interview with Ben Greenman, The New Yorker Magazine, Online Only, September 23, 2002*
Intimately connected to the Zeitgeist Jonathan Franzen talks with Bernadette Conrad about German authors, American life and his moral mission, Die Zeit/Sign and Sight, August 4, 2005 at signandsight.com
