All these people hating on Franzen. I dont think too many of you guys realize he is one of the few great American authors alive. I mean every author is like Stephanie Meyer. Franzen writes about real life and is smart and charming and knows what the fuck he's talking about. Give him a fucking break.
@AScearce2332 there are actually a lot of "great american writers," now as ever; the difference is their books don't compete with the grishams and meyers and kings on bestseller lists the way franzen's do. franzen found a way to break through with books that are unabashedly literary and for that he is to be commended -- but as far as being one of the few "great american writers," come on...he's alright.
God I hated Freedom, especially that elitist prick Walter. If he was such a believer in the notion that regulating population growth would somehow 'save the earth' (although I don't know who for, since, according to him, birth should be banned and virtually no one would inherit the earth except for elitist liberal dickheads and dolphins), why the fuck didn't he kill himself and set a clear example. I'd advise Franzen to do the same thing and rid us of his stupidity.
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
Starts out by declaring his hatred of conservatives and George Bush, etc. Pretty lame and bigoted.
Guess the easiest way to get published is to pander to the leftist elites who run almost all of the publishing houses and write most of the reviews in the large papers and magazines.
@parker1227 What? All he said was that 2000 to 2008 was a rough experience for liberals, which was absolutely true. At no point did he say he hated conservatives or conservatism, nor does he say he hates Bush. Do yourself a favor and think before you open that trap of yours.
A sprawling epic of a novel! The concept of 'Freedom' presented and examined as a duality or a dichotomy. If you can do anything, what you can't do is implied. Is complete autonomy a blessing or a curse? Franzen grapples with this problem in a wonderfully dramatic and entertaining manner. This book reminded me of John Updike's "Rabbit" series.
@bigcyhutch I will, thanks. Franzen is a hack. Writing awards are nothing more than prizes given for being a good leftist. Franzen, Chabon, Angelou; all terrible writers, all award winners.
I picked up "Freedom" after months of free time spent miserably online, and found it a great source of quiet and solitude. Despite its being such an adult novel, it reminded me of why I loved to escape into literature when I was a little kid. It's almost eerie hearing Franzen talk about exactly the way I felt reading his novel.
Franzen's work exhibits two elements so sorely lacking in mainstream culture: a social conscience and artistic virtuosity. Both the elitist-aesthete and the populist-moralist in me fantasize about a time when writers of this sort of bent occupy key positions as creative players in mainstream culture.
@bwall47 I think this is a pretty bleak assessment of a guy who has done a wonderful job engaging a culture in which literature is a dying art form. DFW is an untouchable genius, he is in a league of his own, his shadow touches no one.
I really wish I could fully explain what I'm really getting at here, but there's just not enough space. It is an issue that's been discussed a bit in literary journals.
Franzen, I hope you know that you owe Oprah your nuts; and that's one each for the attention she allowed you to receive for Freedom and The Corrections (which, fearing men would not read it, you declined to allow to be chosen for the book club all the while neglecting that no one who would have read because it's in the book club would have read it if it wasn't, since those readers are Oprah lovers, not 'capital-L' literature lovers).
@mttc72 Not sure what you're getting at..but, Franzen doesn't owe Oprah anything. He is a man with talent and an agenda whether his books are media-blitzed by Oprah fans or not. Oprah most likely would not even appreciate your use here. Oprah and Franzen are two people with differing agendas, most of which don't converge. Your confusing sentence at the end makes it difficult for us to even understand the point you're making.
@mttc72 Not sure what you're getting at..but, Franzen doesn't owe Oprah anything. He is a man with talent and an agenda whether his books are media-blitzed by Oprah fans or not. Oprah most likely would not even appreciate your use here. Oprah and Franzen are two people with differing agendas, most of which don't converge. Your confusing sentence at the end makes it difficult for us to even understand the point you're making.
He didn't want Corrections to be in the book club because he believed that the big O stamp on the cover would deter men from reading it because of its association with Oprah. His line of thinking was that men would be put off by Oprah because most of her fans are female and that would somehow question their masculinity. He made that belief public, which was somewhat offensive. Yet she chose Freedom still. He found that the O stamp is what makes him the big bucks...
@guglielmobelis haha. Yeah, well I thought Freedom was a great novel, I'm reading Strong Motion now and I'm liking it better than the others. I feel like it's tough for Franzen because David Foster Wallace's absence has kind of left him on a level of his own. I don't know I could be wrong.
I couldn.t agree more. We get robbed of our imagination by being bombarded by images and opinions thought up by people we have no connection with. It's very lonely indeed in this ever more beeping world. I have to and will read 'freedom' very soon.
I have never read any of Jonathan Franzen's books I don't know if I should or if I shouldn't. Some people say it a great book! and others..not so much. Though it seems interesting, I would love to read someone's opinions and it hit the bestsellers list I think.
His novel implies that personal liberty is BAD! Liberty is what made this country GREAT. TYRANNY is NO solution to personal liberty. NEVER NEVER NEVER be deceived by these lies. LIberty and free speech are essential elements to human dignity. God gave us free will. Tyranny is evil. Just look up "New World Order" on youtube. Trust Jesus Christ, not Oprah.
@HealthisWealthyes maybe you have a humor that is beyond me, but I honestly can't tell if you're joking or not. If not, then I think that's a narrow interpretation of the novel. I see no evidence of Franzen blatantly telling us what to think, nor do I believe this was his intention. He's simply highlighting all the new hardships and dilemmas that newfound freedoms present to the individual. You say God gave us free will, but religion necessitates some sacrifice of freedom, too.
@zachmasterzach it's more about the human struggle to figure out which freedoms we are going to allow ourselves.
Hey, we're all allowed our own interpretations, I really mean you no disrespect, I just can't believe you would associate this novel with the new world order-- that's more like an accusation than an interpretation, IMO.
If his new book is like "The Corrections" - it will be a reviewers' triumph. "The Corrections" may have resonated with people - but it was "the emperor's new clothes" to me - a crashing bore.
Just mho - "Freedom" is not a book I'm anxious to read.
@cdpete You clearly haven't even read the book at all, but want to criticize it anyway. That's why I said your comments were "uneducated'. You haven't even read it. It's one of the best books I've ever read (I actually read it). If you read it, and knew the themes of the book, it's not about "peace".
Please take a deep breath and re-read my original post.
I merely stated that I did not care for "The Corrections" which I did read and because of that I didn't care to read the current book.
I am not criticizing the new book in any way - it's obviously going to sell well. But based on your opinion of the book, I'll download a sample to my Kindle. Who knows I might enjoy it. I'm open to that.
@cdpete This really pisses me off when a man (franzen) spends 5 years of his life creating a great work of fiction, and some asshat like you comes in here and says, "I don't think it's any good' even though you HAVEN"T EVEN READ IT. WHY ARE YOU EVEN COMMENTING HERE AT ALL! IF YOU HAVEN"T EVEN READ IT. THAT MAN (FRANZEN) POURED HIS SOUL INTO THIS BOOK AND SOME JERK LIKE YOU says, "it's not any good". When you haven't done anything in life compared to the effort it took him to write it.
@ZachClooney We need hundreds of Franzens to keep reminding this dumbed downed world about the importance of reading. Near the end of this video, Franzen is brilliant about his favourite themes solitude, loneliness, and reading novel.
@ZachClooney I agree with you, here; his interpretation of the novel's function vis a vis solitude is something I heard Robert Stone talk about a decade or so back. By the way, I think Stone--particularly the Stone of his earlier novels--is the better writer; but I do love what Franzen said about badly behaved people in Jane Austen novels.
All these people hating on Franzen. I dont think too many of you guys realize he is one of the few great American authors alive. I mean every author is like Stephanie Meyer. Franzen writes about real life and is smart and charming and knows what the fuck he's talking about. Give him a fucking break.
AScearce2332 4 weeks ago
@AScearce2332 there are actually a lot of "great american writers," now as ever; the difference is their books don't compete with the grishams and meyers and kings on bestseller lists the way franzen's do. franzen found a way to break through with books that are unabashedly literary and for that he is to be commended -- but as far as being one of the few "great american writers," come on...he's alright.
dirtycelinefrenchman 1 week ago
After years of studying psychiatry, it is my professional opinion that Mr Franzen has developed a serious case of vaginitis.
Dodo251 1 month ago
God I hated Freedom, especially that elitist prick Walter. If he was such a believer in the notion that regulating population growth would somehow 'save the earth' (although I don't know who for, since, according to him, birth should be banned and virtually no one would inherit the earth except for elitist liberal dickheads and dolphins), why the fuck didn't he kill himself and set a clear example. I'd advise Franzen to do the same thing and rid us of his stupidity.
Dodo251 1 month ago
Sure hope this guy doesn't try to publish his personality because it won't sell, yawn!
emanmark 2 months ago
i just realized that the pattern of his speech is similar to the Joker in the Dark Knight, the semi stammering quavering voice is pure Joker
Axl207 3 months ago
i think he likes the interviewer because he keeps referencing them.
chiasmus100 3 months ago
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I`ve just read Daisychains of silence on kindle by Catherine MacLoed,I think it`s very good, would like to know what you think.
J.
colliecover 4 months ago
"the unseen interviewer has asked me" 4:39. That made me giggle
anaselhaouat 4 months ago
Does this guy EVER stop whining? I mean, really?
sugarraydodge 4 months ago
Good writer, ass personality. Arrogant and never a smile on his face
LennLucky 4 months ago
He's brilliant, sensitive, brave, and dead-on about everything.
delilah11 4 months ago
at first i found him a bit pretentious, and i guess he is, but i found myself totally in agreement with him from around 11:00 on.
SimAlex20000 4 months ago
Really amused by all the angry conservatives in these comments. Need a hug, guys?
TheRealLordRama 5 months ago
I love you, period.
sandralozes 5 months ago
Feel alone online? What on earth does he mean?
robertkeeganwalker 5 months ago
You are definitely a Third Q kind of person. I had to say hi!
thethirdq 5 months ago
David Foster Wallace is Kurt Cobain. Jonathan Franzen is Dave Grohl. Stephanie Meyer is Krist Novoselic.
Savorist 5 months ago
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Starts out by declaring his hatred of conservatives and George Bush, etc. Pretty lame and bigoted.
Guess the easiest way to get published is to pander to the leftist elites who run almost all of the publishing houses and write most of the reviews in the large papers and magazines.
parker1227 6 months ago
@parker1227 Then how come glenn beck, bill o'reily, sean hannity, nick gillespie, etc. write best-sellers?
johnmarshall007 6 months ago
@parker1227 What? All he said was that 2000 to 2008 was a rough experience for liberals, which was absolutely true. At no point did he say he hated conservatives or conservatism, nor does he say he hates Bush. Do yourself a favor and think before you open that trap of yours.
Savior20061 6 months ago
A sprawling epic of a novel! The concept of 'Freedom' presented and examined as a duality or a dichotomy. If you can do anything, what you can't do is implied. Is complete autonomy a blessing or a curse? Franzen grapples with this problem in a wonderfully dramatic and entertaining manner. This book reminded me of John Updike's "Rabbit" series.
valis1949 6 months ago
Horrible writer. The Corrections was garbage.
snoopy9134 7 months ago
@snoopy9134 keeping reading peanuts, snoopy.
bigcyhutch 5 months ago
@bigcyhutch I will, thanks. Franzen is a hack. Writing awards are nothing more than prizes given for being a good leftist. Franzen, Chabon, Angelou; all terrible writers, all award winners.
snoopy9134 5 months ago
I picked up "Freedom" after months of free time spent miserably online, and found it a great source of quiet and solitude. Despite its being such an adult novel, it reminded me of why I loved to escape into literature when I was a little kid. It's almost eerie hearing Franzen talk about exactly the way I felt reading his novel.
Niidlephish 7 months ago 3
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Franzen's work exhibits two elements so sorely lacking in mainstream culture: a social conscience and artistic virtuosity. Both the elitist-aesthete and the populist-moralist in me fantasize about a time when writers of this sort of bent occupy key positions as creative players in mainstream culture.
fraserdaly 9 months ago
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fraserdaly 9 months ago
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fraserdaly 9 months ago
E io mi dovrei studiare questo stronzetto per domani? GAZZUGAZZU
rougecherie 9 months ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
jonathan franzen, you're an asswipe
Boburd21 10 months ago
@arachn0idx1
Yeah, that was a pretty harsh comment. Seems a bit ignorant too as they're both pretty influential, just in different ways.
bwall47 10 months ago
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southerner66 10 months ago
It must be sad for him to be constantly under DFW's shadow, even now.
bwall47 10 months ago
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arachn0idx1 10 months ago
@bwall47 I think this is a pretty bleak assessment of a guy who has done a wonderful job engaging a culture in which literature is a dying art form. DFW is an untouchable genius, he is in a league of his own, his shadow touches no one.
arachn0idx1 10 months ago
@arachn0idx1 or everyone.
arachn0idx1 10 months ago
His upper-lip is almost as large as Stephen King's.
futon011 10 months ago
Franzen is awesome :)
sarahthewriter1 11 months ago
the audio is too low...can´t hear anything
Friendlessday 1 year ago
@Friendlessday get speakers
mcr89x 11 months ago
Respect to Mr. Franzen for snubbing Oprah, but I regret to say that his novels just aren't very good.
grahamlaur 1 year ago
he reminds me of a very smart, flummoxed turtle
helliop 1 year ago 5
@helliop LOL thats fucking funny LOL LOL
Axl207 3 months ago
F oprah.. Who cares what that hack thinks about anything.
jimmynorton1001 1 year ago
He is so brilliant. I am in love with him.
TheGenYgirl 1 year ago
I really wish I could fully explain what I'm really getting at here, but there's just not enough space. It is an issue that's been discussed a bit in literary journals.
mttc72 1 year ago
Franzen, I hope you know that you owe Oprah your nuts; and that's one each for the attention she allowed you to receive for Freedom and The Corrections (which, fearing men would not read it, you declined to allow to be chosen for the book club all the while neglecting that no one who would have read because it's in the book club would have read it if it wasn't, since those readers are Oprah lovers, not 'capital-L' literature lovers).
mttc72 1 year ago
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flournnoi 1 year ago
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flournnoi 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@mttc72 Not sure what you're getting at..but, Franzen doesn't owe Oprah anything. He is a man with talent and an agenda whether his books are media-blitzed by Oprah fans or not. Oprah most likely would not even appreciate your use here. Oprah and Franzen are two people with differing agendas, most of which don't converge. Your confusing sentence at the end makes it difficult for us to even understand the point you're making.
flournnoi 1 year ago
@mttc72 Not sure what you're getting at..but, Franzen doesn't owe Oprah anything. He is a man with talent and an agenda whether his books are media-blitzed by Oprah fans or not. Oprah most likely would not even appreciate your use here. Oprah and Franzen are two people with differing agendas, most of which don't converge. Your confusing sentence at the end makes it difficult for us to even understand the point you're making.
flournnoi 1 year ago
@flournnoi
He didn't want Corrections to be in the book club because he believed that the big O stamp on the cover would deter men from reading it because of its association with Oprah. His line of thinking was that men would be put off by Oprah because most of her fans are female and that would somehow question their masculinity. He made that belief public, which was somewhat offensive. Yet she chose Freedom still. He found that the O stamp is what makes him the big bucks...
mttc72 1 year ago
i'll be getting this book in about a week , lets hope its as good as he sounds.
zeusstar23 1 year ago
what a big marvelously mopey sillyheaded genius
MrSadGuru 1 year ago
@guglielmobelis haha. Yeah, well I thought Freedom was a great novel, I'm reading Strong Motion now and I'm liking it better than the others. I feel like it's tough for Franzen because David Foster Wallace's absence has kind of left him on a level of his own. I don't know I could be wrong.
Super8StrikesBack 1 year ago
I couldn.t agree more. We get robbed of our imagination by being bombarded by images and opinions thought up by people we have no connection with. It's very lonely indeed in this ever more beeping world. I have to and will read 'freedom' very soon.
francoisedouce 1 year ago
@guglielmobelis Who else is good in contemporary fiction?
Super8StrikesBack 1 year ago
I think he's sexy.
DieEdle 1 year ago
I'll be honest. I'm listening to interviews of this guy, and he doesn't seem like the pretentious dickhead some paint him to be.
bigrobdeezey 1 year ago 12
@bigrobdeezey Read Freedom, he is a pretentious dickhead.
Dodo251 1 month ago
I have those dreams all the time.
Super8StrikesBack 1 year ago
"The unseen interviewer." Heh-heh.
AliGrega 1 year ago
I have never read any of Jonathan Franzen's books I don't know if I should or if I shouldn't. Some people say it a great book! and others..not so much. Though it seems interesting, I would love to read someone's opinions and it hit the bestsellers list I think.
~Nel.
Theo2kitty 1 year ago
His novel implies that personal liberty is BAD! Liberty is what made this country GREAT. TYRANNY is NO solution to personal liberty. NEVER NEVER NEVER be deceived by these lies. LIberty and free speech are essential elements to human dignity. God gave us free will. Tyranny is evil. Just look up "New World Order" on youtube. Trust Jesus Christ, not Oprah.
HealthisWealthyes 1 year ago
wow, did you actually read the book? if your world is black and white, avoid literature, you obviously don't understand it.
dwanks 1 year ago 3
@HealthisWealthyes I didn't realize there was a difference between Jesus Christ and Oprah. Huh, you learn something every day.
Smoochy44 1 year ago
@HealthisWealthyes maybe you have a humor that is beyond me, but I honestly can't tell if you're joking or not. If not, then I think that's a narrow interpretation of the novel. I see no evidence of Franzen blatantly telling us what to think, nor do I believe this was his intention. He's simply highlighting all the new hardships and dilemmas that newfound freedoms present to the individual. You say God gave us free will, but religion necessitates some sacrifice of freedom, too.
zachmasterzach 1 year ago
@zachmasterzach it's more about the human struggle to figure out which freedoms we are going to allow ourselves.
Hey, we're all allowed our own interpretations, I really mean you no disrespect, I just can't believe you would associate this novel with the new world order-- that's more like an accusation than an interpretation, IMO.
zachmasterzach 1 year ago
I work at BN I'm so glad to see the sales of this book rise above a lot of garbage that comes out.
justbrandon666 1 year ago
Another 3 days to go before the hard copy of 'Freedom' is released in Britain.
ZachClooney 1 year ago
If his new book is like "The Corrections" - it will be a reviewers' triumph. "The Corrections" may have resonated with people - but it was "the emperor's new clothes" to me - a crashing bore.
Just mho - "Freedom" is not a book I'm anxious to read.
cdpete 1 year ago
@cdpete That's because you're uneducated.
mondoeargood 1 year ago
@mondoeargood - no need to be nasty man - just because I don't care for this author. Peace.
cdpete 1 year ago
@cdpete You clearly haven't even read the book at all, but want to criticize it anyway. That's why I said your comments were "uneducated'. You haven't even read it. It's one of the best books I've ever read (I actually read it). If you read it, and knew the themes of the book, it's not about "peace".
mondoeargood 1 year ago
@mondoeargood -
Please take a deep breath and re-read my original post.
I merely stated that I did not care for "The Corrections" which I did read and because of that I didn't care to read the current book.
I am not criticizing the new book in any way - it's obviously going to sell well. But based on your opinion of the book, I'll download a sample to my Kindle. Who knows I might enjoy it. I'm open to that.
cdpete 1 year ago
@cdpete This really pisses me off when a man (franzen) spends 5 years of his life creating a great work of fiction, and some asshat like you comes in here and says, "I don't think it's any good' even though you HAVEN"T EVEN READ IT. WHY ARE YOU EVEN COMMENTING HERE AT ALL! IF YOU HAVEN"T EVEN READ IT. THAT MAN (FRANZEN) POURED HIS SOUL INTO THIS BOOK AND SOME JERK LIKE YOU says, "it's not any good". When you haven't done anything in life compared to the effort it took him to write it.
mondoeargood 1 year ago
@mondoeargood - I never said, that it wasn't any good - how could I if I had not read it. Please take the time to re-read my original post.
cdpete 1 year ago
Wow! Only 249 views so far? And this is one of the most exciting novelists of the last twelve years. Can't wait to read 'Freedom'.
ZachClooney 1 year ago 3
@ZachClooney We need hundreds of Franzens to keep reminding this dumbed downed world about the importance of reading. Near the end of this video, Franzen is brilliant about his favourite themes solitude, loneliness, and reading novel.
ZachClooney 1 year ago 17
@ZachClooney I agree with you, here; his interpretation of the novel's function vis a vis solitude is something I heard Robert Stone talk about a decade or so back. By the way, I think Stone--particularly the Stone of his earlier novels--is the better writer; but I do love what Franzen said about badly behaved people in Jane Austen novels.
princeandrey 1 year ago
@princeandrey Thanks for linking Franzen to Robert Stone. Your enthusiasm makes me want to start reading the novels of Stone.
ZachClooney 1 year ago
@ZachClooney Absolutely! Dog Soldiers, A Flag for Sunrise, and Children of Light are all terrific, in my estimation!
princeandrey 1 year ago
His t-shirt sleeves are longer than his polo. He should put that in the next novel. I look forward to reading it in 2019.
McSaddle 1 year ago 35
@McSaddle LOL :)
ZachClooney 1 year ago
@McSaddle Franzen's $millions simply cannot buy him a decent dress sense!
ZachClooney 1 year ago
@ZachClooney That's why he's an author, making some of the greatest novels ever written, instead of worrying about what shirt he wears.
mondoeargood 1 year ago
@McSaddle It looks good.
minonda 1 year ago
@McSaddle 2019 ? WTF!
zeusstar23 1 year ago
@McSaddle
That´s how we wear it in Europe, I mean the smart guys. Everything´s better than a Ralph Lauren polo.
admiralpepperoni 1 year ago