Jonathan Franzen Freedom Backlash

The biggest novel of the fall is experiencing a backlash from critics saying coverage is overblown, but Lizzie Skurnick writes that it’s not Franzen’s fault, and his book has the answers.

Published Aug. 31 2010 9:22AM EDT

articles/2010/08/31/jonathan-franzen-freedom-backlash/skurnick-franzen-hype_123435_ddgfxp — Jonathan Franzen at a book signing in 2002. (Kevin Weinstein, Chicago Tribune / Newscom)

articles/2010/08/31/jonathan-franzen-freedom-backlash/skurnick-franzen-hype_123435_vviupq

Make of it what you will, but the Twitter-born fracas over Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom proves one thing without a doubt: The American literary establishment are size queens.

Their collective pulse races at the sight of a muscular doorstopper filled with realism.

Lizzie Skurnick

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Jonathan Franzen Freedom Backlash

The biggest novel of the fall is experiencing a backlash from critics saying coverage is overblown, but Lizzie Skurnick writes that it’s not Franzen’s fault, and his book has the answers.

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Lizzie Skurnick