KETC | Living St. Louis | Jonathan Franzen

From KETC, LIVING ST. LOUIS Producer Jim Kirchherr visits with author Jonathan Franzen, who talks about growing up in Webster Groves and the impression of his hometown leftover from a 1960s documentary about the town.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• KETC
• St.Louis
• LivingStLouis
• Kirchherr
• Jonathan
• Franzen
• Webster
• Groves

[ronnie2407]

Jonathan Franzen is a beautiful writer, one of the shrewdest and most astute of novelists currently writing

[mlawren7]

Part of me hates Franzen but I mostly think he is terrific. This is perhaps the mark of a truly great writer! His success has been good for all American writing. I wish him more success, because when he has too much money to care about his career, perhaps he will write the best ever novel. At least I hope that's how it turns out. My two cents about his Oprah thing though: if that purple "O" sticker had been on the paperback issue I saw in the book store, I probably would not have bought it.

[chrblair]

@HealthisWealthyes Sorry, but you're not much of a literary critic.

[bigcyhutch]

most people don't get freedom or the corrections because they are about subjects so close to the truth of being that over-sensationalized books - such as those written by stephen king, et al. most people want to escape looking that closely. so that go for fantastical. each has their place, but my bet is that most people choose to escape than to get real.

[BargainBookMole]

a bit too St Louis focused.

BargainBookMole: Guaranteed to find the lowest prices online or the book is on us!

[letsif]

Sucking up

[Basra2020]

I am sorry, what is the BIG deal. The corrections is VASTLY over-rated. The book is entire boring if you ask me. It has none of the landmark of a good novel. For starters a novel should be riveting or interesting at least--interesting enough to allow you patience to continue reading. I am sorry,a rather far removed upper class white suburban family dysfunction, mascarading as a 'middle class' is something more than i can handle. Suffice to say, i will not read Freedom. Freedom of my dollar!

[TheTruth006]

I'd like to cancel my order.

[HealthisWealthyes]

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.

[MEpianist]

@ronnie2407 One of Franzen's recent Rules of Writing is:

Never use the word "then" as a ­conjunction – we have "and" for this purpose. Substituting "then" is the lazy or tone-deaf writer's non-solution to the problem of too many "ands" on the page.

Could someone please explain that, with an example. I don't know how to use "then" as a conjunction, I thought "and" and "or" were the only choices.

[firethief]

It's Sept. 2, 2010 and I'm about 70% through The Discomfort Zone. I read most of it up on a lake at a family reunion in Wisconsin. It just struck me the way Robert Penn Warren's All the King's Men struck me when I read it on my own in high school. Within 15 mins I paused...holy crap this guy can write.

[CastleRockFan]

Anyone who lets a TV personality decide what he/she should read...well, I don't believe he/she would be able to handle a novel like The Corrections.