About the Author

Jonathan Franzen is the author of "The Corrections," winner of the National Book Award and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the Pen/Faulkner. He is also the author of "Freedom," selected for Oprah's Book Club, "The Twenty-Seventh City," "Strong Motion," and "How to Be Alone," all published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. In 1996, he was named one of Granta's Best of Young American Novelists. He lives in New York City and Santa Cruz, California.

Reviews

Praise for "How to Be Alone"

"This collection emphasizes [Franzen's] elegance, acumen and daring as an essayist, with an intellectually engaging self-awareness as formidable as Joan Didion's." --Janet Maslin, "The New York Times"

"Jonathan Franzen is one of the most nuanced minds at works in the dwindling republic of letters." --Richard Lacayo, "Time"

"There's some boldness, then, in how Franzen reclaims his pain on the page, owning up to it and, as any good journalist will, making it our own, too." --John Freeman, "The San Francisco Chronicle"

"Franzen's ability to articulate the tension between our intimate and public lives is his great strength." --Valerie Ellis, "The ""Boston"" Review"

""How to Be Alone" reaffirms the novelist's prerogative to engage in social criticism And Franzen's calm, passionate critical authority derives not from any special expertise in criminology, neurology or postal science, but rather from the fact that, as a novelist, he is principally concerned with the messy architecture of the self." --A.O. Scott, "The New York Times Book Review"

Praise for "How to Be Alone"
"This collection emphasizes [Franzen's] elegance, acumen and daring as an essayist, with an intellectually engaging self-awareness as formidable as Joan Didion's." --Janet Maslin, "The New York Times"
"Jonathan Franzen is one of the most nuanced minds at works in the dwindling republic of letters." --Richard Lacayo, "Time"
"There's some boldness, then, in how Franzen reclaims his pain on the page, owning up to it and, as any good journalist will, making it our own, too." --John Freeman, "The San Francisco Chronicle"
"Franzen's ability to articulate the tension between our intimate and public lives is his great strength." --Valerie Ellis, "The ""Boston"" Review"
""How to Be Alone" reaffirms the novelist's prerogative to engage in social criticism And Franzen's calm, passionate critical authority derives not from any special expertise in criminology, neurology or postal science, but rather from the fact that, as a novelist,

Praise for "How to Be Alone":
"This collection emphasizes [Franzen's] elegance, acumen and daring as an essayist, with an intellectually engaging self-awareness as formidable as Joan Didion's." --Janet Maslin, "The New York Times"
"Jonathan Franzen is one of the most nuanced minds at works in the dwindling republic of letters." --Richard Lacayo, "Time"
"There's some boldness, then, in how Franzen reclaims his pain on the page, owning up to it and, as any good journalist will, making it our own, too." --John Freeman, "The San Francisco Chronicle"
"Franzen's ability to articulate the tension between our intimate and public lives is his great strength." --Valerie Ellis, "The ""Boston"" Review"
""How to Be Alone" reaffirms the novelist's prerogative to engage in social criticism And Franzen's calm, passionate critical authority derives not from any special expertise in criminology, neurology or postal science, but rather from the fact that, as a novelist, he is principa

Praise for "How to Be Alone"

"This collection emphasizes [Franzen's] elegance, acumen and daring as an essayist, with an intellectually engaging self-awareness as formidable as Joan Didion's." --Janet Maslin, "The New York Times"

"Jonathan Franzen is one of the most nuanced minds at works in the dwindling republic of letters." --Richard Lacayo, "Time"

"There's some boldness, then, in how Franzen reclaims his pain on the page, owning up to it and, as any good journalist will, making it our own, too." --John Freeman, "The San Francisco Chronicle"

"Franzen's ability to articulate the tension between our intimate and public lives is his great strength." --Valerie Ellis, "The ""Boston"" Review"

""How to Be Alone" reaffirms the novelist's prerogative to engage in social criticism And Franzen's calm, passionate critical authority derives not from any special expertise in criminology, neurology or postal science, but rather from the fact that, as a novelist, he is principally concerned with the messy architecture of the self." --A.O. Scott, "The New York Times Book Review"

Praise for "How to Be Alone"
"This collection emphasizes [Franzen's] elegance, acumen and daring as an essayist, with an intellectually engaging self-awareness as formidable as Joan Didion's." --Janet Maslin, "The New York Times"
"Jonathan Franzen is one of the most nuanced minds at works in the dwindling republic of letters." --Richard Lacayo, "Time"
"There's some boldness, then, in how Franzen reclaims his pain on the page, owning up to it and, as any good journalist will, making it our own, too." --John Freeman, "The San Francisco Chronicle"
"Franzen's ability to articulate the tension between our intimate and public lives is his great strength." --Valerie Ellis, "The ""Boston"" Review"
""How to Be Alone" reaffirms the novelist's prerogative to engage in social criticism And Franzen's calm, passionate critical authority derives not from any special expertise in criminology, neurology or postal science, but rather from the fact that, as a novelist,
Praise for "How to Be Alone":
"This collection emphasizes [Franzen's] elegance, acumen and daring as an essayist, with an intellectually engaging self-awareness as formidable as Joan Didion's." --Janet Maslin, "The New York Times"
"Jonathan Franzen is one of the most nuanced minds at works in the dwindling republic of letters." --Richard Lacayo, "Time"
"There's some boldness, then, in how Franzen reclaims his pain on the page, owning up to it and, as any good journalist will, making it our own, too." --John Freeman, "The San Francisco Chronicle"
"Franzen's ability to articulate the tension between our intimate and public lives is his great strength." --Valerie Ellis, "The ""Boston"" Review"
""How to Be Alone" reaffirms the novelist's prerogative to engage in social criticism And Franzen's calm, passionate critical authority derives not from any special expertise in criminology, neurology or postal science, but rather from the fact that, as a novelist, he is principa