Editing Jonathan Franzen (section)

==Career==

=== Early novels ===
[[File:Jonathan Franzen, Author 1988.jpg|thumb|upright|Franzen in 1988]]
''[[The Twenty-Seventh City]]'', published in 1988, is set in Franzen's hometown, St. Louis, and deals with the city's fall from grace, St. Louis having been the "fourth city" in the 1870s. This sprawling novel was warmly received and established Franzen as an author to watch.<ref>[http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/1992/01/20/terra-not-so-firma.html Laura Shapiro, "Terra Not So Firma," Newsweek, January 20, 1992.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120725102157/http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/1992/01/20/terra-not-so-firma.html |date=July 25, 2012 }} (Shapiro: "A huge and masterly drama of St. Louis under siege, gripping and surreal and overwhelmingly convincing." Shapiro also noted The Twenty-Seventh City's "brilliance," and the author's "prodigious gifts," concluding, "The news that he is at work on a third [novel] is welcome indeed."]</ref> In a conversation with novelist [[Donald Antrim]] for ''[[Bomb (magazine)|Bomb Magazine]]'', Franzen described ''The Twenty-Seventh City'' as "a conversation with the literary figures of my parents' generation[,] the great sixties and seventies Postmoderns",<ref>Antrim, Donald. [http://bombsite.com/issues/77/articles/2437 "Jonathan Franzen"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110814053258/http://bombsite.com/issues/77/articles/2437 |date=August 14, 2011 }}. ''[[Bomb (magazine)|Bomb Magazine]]''. Fall 2001. Retrieved July 27, 2011.</ref> adding in a later interview "I was a skinny, scared kid trying to write a big novel. The mask I donned was that of a rhetorically airtight, extremely smart, extremely knowledgeable middle-aged writer."<ref name="theparisreview.org">{{cite journal|url=http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/6054/the-art-of-fiction-no-207-jonathan-franzen|title=Jonathan Franzen, The Art of Fiction No. 207|journal=The Paris Review|author=Stephen J. Burn|date=Winter 2010|volume=Winter 2010|issue=195|access-date=January 21, 2011|archive-date=October 31, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121031005440/http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/6054/the-art-of-fiction-no-207-jonathan-franzen|url-status=live}}</ref>

''[[Strong Motion]]'' (1992) focuses mainly on a [[dysfunctional family]], the Hollands, and uses [[Seismology|seismic]] events on the American East Coast as a metaphor for the quakes that occur in family life (as Franzen put it, "I imagined static lives being disrupted from without—literally shaken. I imagined violent scenes that would strip away the veneer and get people shouting angry moral truths at each other."<ref name="theparisreview.org"/>). A '[[systems novel]]', the key 'systems' of ''Strong Motion'' according to Franzen are "... the systems of science and religion—two violently opposing systems of making sense in the world."<ref name="theparisreview.org"/> The novel was not a financial success at the time of its publication. Franzen subsequently defended the novel in his 2010 Paris Review interview, remarking "I think they [critics and readers] may be overlooking ''Strong Motion'' a little bit."<ref name="theparisreview.org"/>

Franzen taught a fiction-writing seminar at [[Swarthmore College|Swarthmore]] in the spring of 1992 and 1994:
{{Blockquote
|text= On that first day of class, Franzen wrote two words on the blackboard: "truth" and "beauty," and told his students that these were the goals of fiction. Haslett describes Franzen's classroom manner as "serious." "He meant what he said and didn't suffer fools gladly." But this seriousness was leavened by a "great relish for words and writing," adds Kathleen Lawton-Trask '96, a 1994 workshop student who is now a writer and high school English teacher. "People who teach fiction workshops aren't always starry-eyed about writing, but he was. He read our stories so closely that he often started class with a rundown of words that were not used quite correctly in stories from that week's workshop. (I still remember him explaining to us the difference between cement and concrete.) At the same time, he was eminently supportive and sympathetic; I don't remember those corrections ever feeling condescending."<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Wachter |first=Paul |date=April 2011 |title=Six Degrees of Jonathan Franzen |url=https://bulletin.swarthmore.edu/bulletin-issue-archive/archive_p=635.html |magazine=Swarthmore College Bulletin |access-date=2019-07-12 |archive-date=July 13, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190713020627/https://bulletin.swarthmore.edu/bulletin-issue-archive/archive_p%3D635.html |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

For the 1992 class, Franzen invited [[David Foster Wallace]] to be a guest judge of the workshop pieces.

=== ''The Corrections'' ===
{{main|The Corrections}}
Franzen's ''The Corrections'', a novel of social criticism, garnered considerable critical acclaim in the United States, winning both the 2001 [[National Book Award for Fiction]]<ref name=nba2001>{{Cite web|title=National Book Awards 2001|url=https://www.nationalbook.org/awards-prizes/national-book-awards-2001/|access-date=March 5, 2023|website=National Book Foundation|language=en-US|archive-date=April 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190405101325/https://www.nationalbook.org/awards-prizes/national-book-awards-2001/|url-status=live}}</ref>
and the 2002 [[James Tait Black Memorial Prize]] for fiction.<ref name="bookprizeinfo1">{{Cite web |url=http://www.bookprizeinfo.com/showbook.php?book=225 |title=Book Prize Information – The Corrections |publisher=Bookprizeinfo.com |access-date=March 15, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101129022848/http://www.bookprizeinfo.com/showbook.php?book=225 |archive-date=November 29, 2010 }}</ref> The novel was also a finalist for the 2001 National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction,<ref name="bookprizeinfo1"/> the 2002 [[PEN/Faulkner Award]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.penfaulkner.org/award_for_fiction_previous.php |title=PEN / Faulkner Foundation Award For Fiction Previous |publisher=Penfaulkner.org |access-date=March 15, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100302080028/http://www.penfaulkner.org/award_for_fiction_previous.php |archive-date=March 2, 2010 }}</ref> and the 2002 [[Pulitzer Prize for Fiction]] (won by [[Richard Russo]] for ''[[Empire Falls]]'').<ref>{{cite web |title=2002 Pulitzer Prizes |url=https://www.pulitzer.org/prize-winners-by-year/2002 |website=pulitzer.org |access-date=June 13, 2023}}</ref>

In September 2001, ''The Corrections'' was selected for [[Oprah Winfrey]]'s [[Oprah's Book Club|book club]]. Franzen initially participated in the selection, sitting down for a lengthy interview with Oprah and appearing in [[B-roll]] footage in his hometown of St. Louis (described in an essay in ''How To Be Alone'' titled "Meet Me In St. Louis"). In October 2001, however, ''[[The Oregonian]]'' printed an article in which Franzen expressed unease with the selection. In an interview on [[National Public Radio]]'s ''[[Fresh Air]]'', he expressed his worry that the Oprah logo on the cover dissuaded men from reading the book:

{{blockquote|I had some hope of actually reaching a male audience and I've heard more than one reader in signing lines now at bookstores say "If I hadn't heard you, I would have been put off by the fact that it is an Oprah pick. I figure those books are for women. I would never touch it." Those are male readers speaking. I see this as my book, my creation.<ref>{{cite news|first=Terry|last=Gross|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1131456|title=Novelist Jonathan Franzen|work=Fresh Air|publisher=NPR|date=October 15, 2001|access-date=April 4, 2018|archive-date=August 17, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180817092355/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1131456|url-status=live}}</ref>|}}

Soon afterward, Franzen's invitation to appear on Oprah's show was rescinded. Winfrey announced, "Jonathan Franzen will not be on the Oprah Winfrey show because he is seemingly uncomfortable and conflicted about being chosen as a book club selection. It is never my intention to make anyone uncomfortable or cause anyone conflict. We have decided to skip the dinner and we're moving on to the next book."<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2013/08/jonathan_franzen_s_the_corrections_and_oprah_winfrey_s_book_club.html|title=Corrections|last=Kachka|first=Boris|date=August 5, 2013|work=Slate|access-date=August 17, 2018|language=en-US|issn=1091-2339|archive-date=August 17, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180817092804/http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2013/08/jonathan_franzen_s_the_corrections_and_oprah_winfrey_s_book_club.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

These events gained Franzen and his novel widespread media attention. ''The Corrections'' soon became one of the decade's best-selling works of literary fiction. At the National Book Award ceremony, Franzen said "I'd also like to thank Oprah Winfrey for her enthusiasm and advocacy on behalf of ''The Corrections''."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalbook.org/nbaacceptspeech_jfranzen.html|title=National Book Awards Acceptance Speeches: Jonathan Franzen|work=[[National Book Foundation]]|year=2001|access-date=April 4, 2007|archive-date=June 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614095239/http://www.nationalbook.org/nbaacceptspeech_jfranzen.html}}</ref>

Following the success of ''The Corrections'' and the publication of ''[[The Discomfort Zone]]'' and ''[[How to Be Alone (book)|How to Be Alone]]'', Franzen began work on his next novel. In the interim, he published two short stories in ''[[The New Yorker]]'': "Breakup Stories", published November 8, 2004, concerned the disintegration of four relationships; and "Two's Company", published May 23, 2005, concerned a couple who write for TV, then split up.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/bios/jonathan_franzen/search?contributorName=jonathan%20franzen&page=1&sort=publishDateSort%20desc,%20score%20desc&queryType=parsed|title=jonathan franzen: Contributors|magazine=The New Yorker|access-date=March 15, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607083522/http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/bios/jonathan_franzen/search?contributorName=jonathan%20franzen&page=1&sort=publishDateSort%20desc,%20score%20desc&queryType=parsed|archive-date=June 7, 2011}}</ref>

In 2011, it was announced that Franzen would write a multi-part television adaptation of ''The Corrections'' in collaboration with ''[[The Squid and the Whale]]'' director [[Noah Baumbach]] for HBO.<ref>{{cite news|first=Sean|last=O'Neal|url=https://www.avclub.com/noah-baumbach-developing-jonathan-franzens-the-correcti-1798227286|title=Noah Baumbach developing Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections as HBO series|work=A. V. Club|date=September 6, 2011|access-date=April 16, 2020|archive-date=September 20, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130920195656/http://www.avclub.com/articles/noah-baumbach-developing-jonathan-franzens-the-cor,61383/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Lacey|last=Rose|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/noah-baumbach-take-jonathan-franzens-230893|title=Noah Baumbach to Take on Jonathan Franzen's 'The Corrections' for HBO|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=September 2, 2011|access-date=April 16, 2020|archive-date=August 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809180619/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/noah-baumbach-take-jonathan-franzens-230893|url-status=live}}</ref> HBO has since passed on ''Corrections'', citing "difficulty" in "adapting the book's challenging narrative, which moves through time and cuts forwards and back": that would be "difficult to sustain in a series and challenging for viewers to follow, hampering the potential show's accessibility."<ref>{{cite news|first=Nellie|last=Andreeva|url=https://deadline.com/2012/05/hbo-pilot-the-corrections-not-going-forward-265078/|title=HBO Drama Pilot 'The Corrections' Not Going Forward|work=Deadline|date=May 1, 2012|access-date=April 16, 2020|archive-date=February 15, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140215090229/http://www.deadline.com/2012/05/hbo-pilot-the-corrections-not-going-forward/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In September 2019, ''The Corrections'' was voted sixteenth in a list of the 100 best books of the twenty-first century so far by writers and critics of the ''Guardian'' newspaper.<ref name="Staff">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/sep/21/best-books-of-the-21st-century|title=The 100 best books of the 21st century|author=Guardian Staff|date=September 21, 2019|work=The Guardian|access-date=September 22, 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=December 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191206135810/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/sep/21/best-books-of-the-21st-century|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== ''Freedom'' ===
{{main|Freedom (Franzen novel)}}
{{external media| float = right| width = 230px | video1 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?296688-14/freedom-novel Presentation by Franzen on ''Freedom: A Novel'' at the Miami Book Fair International, November 21, 2010], [[C-SPAN]]}}
[[File:Jonathan Franzen at the Brooklyn Book Festival.jpg|thumb|Franzen at the 2008 [[Brooklyn Book Festival]]]]
On June 8, 2009, Franzen published an excerpt from ''Freedom'', his novel in progress, in ''The New Yorker''. The excerpt, titled "Good Neighbors", concerned the trials and tribulations of a couple in [[St. Paul, Minnesota]]. On May 31, 2010, a second excerpt — titled "Agreeable" — was published, also in ''The New Yorker''.<ref name="Agreeable">{{citation |url= https://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2010/05/31/100531fi_fiction_franzen |magazine= The New Yorker |title= Agreeable |author= Jonathan Franzen |date= May 31, 2010 |access-date= April 16, 2020 |archive-date= June 3, 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140603170149/http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2010/05/31/100531fi_fiction_franzen |url-status= live }}</ref>

On October 16, 2009, Franzen made an appearance alongside David Bezmozgis at the ''New Yorker Festival'' at the Cedar Lake Theatre, reading a portion of his forthcoming novel.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/festival/schedule/index/friday#bezmozgis|title=Festival|magazine=The New Yorker|date=January 7, 2009|access-date=March 15, 2010|archive-date=September 21, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921023212/http://www.newyorker.com/festival/schedule/index/friday#bezmozgis|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="northbynorthwestern1">{{cite news|url=http://www.northbynorthwestern.com/2009/11/55140/the-franzen-interface/|title=The Franzen Interface|work=North by Northwestern|access-date=March 15, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714194929/http://www.northbynorthwestern.com/2009/11/55140/the-franzen-interface/|archive-date=July 14, 2011}}</ref> Sam Allard, writing for North By Northwestern about the event, said that the "...material from his new (reportedly massive) novel" was "as buoyant and compelling as ever" and "marked by his familiar undercurrent of tragedy". Franzen read "an extended clip from the second chapter."<ref name="northbynorthwestern1"/>

On September 9, 2010, Franzen appeared on ''[[Fresh Air]]'' to discuss ''Freedom'' in the wake of its release. Franzen has drawn what he describes as a "feminist critique" for the attention that male authors receive over female authors—a critique he supports. Franzen also discussed his friendship with [[David Foster Wallace]] and the impact of Wallace's suicide on his writing process.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129747555|title=Franzen On The Book, The Backlash, His Background|work=Fresh Air|publisher=NPR|date=September 9, 2010|access-date=September 10, 2010|archive-date=November 5, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111105181847/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129747555|url-status=live}}</ref>

''Freedom'' was the subject of a highly unusual "recall" in the United Kingdom starting in early October 2010. An earlier draft of the manuscript, to which Franzen had made over 200 changes, had been published by mistake. The publisher, [[HarperCollins]], initiated an exchange program, but thousands of books had been distributed by that time.<ref>{{cite news|first1=Alison|last1=Flood|first2=Rowenna|last2=Davis|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/oct/01/jonathan-franzen-freedom-uk-recall|title=Jonathan Franzen's book Freedom suffers UK recall|work=The Guardian|location=London|date=October 1, 2010|access-date=December 11, 2016|archive-date=July 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706131447/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/oct/01/jonathan-franzen-freedom-uk-recall|url-status=live}}</ref>

While promoting the book, Franzen became the first American author to appear on the cover of ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine since [[Stephen King]] in 2000. Franzen appeared alongside the headline "Great American Novelist".<ref name="millions_time_franzen_cover">{{cite news |last=Fehrman |first=Craig |date=August 16, 2010 |title=The Franzen Cover and a Brief History of Time |work=[[The Millions]] |url=http://www.themillions.com/2010/08/the-franzen-cover-and-a-brief-history-of-time.html |url-status=live |access-date=December 20, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210050751/https://themillions.com/2010/08/the-franzen-cover-and-a-brief-history-of-time.html |archive-date=December 10, 2019}}</ref> He discussed the implications of the ''Time'' coverage, and the reasoning behind the title of ''Freedom'' in an interview in Manchester, England, in October 2010.<ref>{{cite news|first=Dave|last=Haslam|url=http://www.davehaslam.com/Franzen.html|title=Onstage interview with celebrated American novelist Jonathan Franzen|work=Dave Haslam, Author and DJ – Official Site|date=October 3, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130630045528/http://www.davehaslam.com/Franzen.html|archive-date=June 30, 2013}}</ref>

On September 17, 2010, Oprah Winfrey announced that Jonathan Franzen's ''Freedom'' would be an Oprah book club selection, the first of the last season of ''The Oprah Winfrey Show''.<ref>{{cite news|first=Carolyn|last=Kellogg|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-sep-18-la-et-0918-franzen-oprah-20100918-story.html|title=Oprah's book club christens Franzen's 'Freedom'|work=Los Angeles Times|date=September 18, 2010|access-date=April 16, 2020|archive-date=May 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170518085802/http://articles.latimes.com/2010/sep/18/entertainment/la-et-0918-franzen-oprah-20100918|url-status=live}}</ref> On December 6, 2010, he appeared on ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' to promote ''Freedom'' where they discussed that book and the controversy over his reservations about her picking ''The Corrections'' and what that would entail.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=12323137|title=Author Jonathan Franzen Appears on 'Oprah' Show|work=ABC News|access-date=April 16, 2020|archive-date=February 17, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110217071959/http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=12323137|url-status=live}}</ref>

Franzen has stated the writing of ''Freedom'' was influenced by the death of his close friend and fellow novelist David Foster Wallace.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Franzen|first=Jonathan|date=October 2, 2015|title=Jonathan Franzen: 'Modern life has become extremely distracting'|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/oct/02/jonathan-franzen-writing-freedom|access-date=March 5, 2023|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=March 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170309174833/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/oct/02/jonathan-franzen-writing-freedom|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== ''Purity'' ===
{{main|Purity (novel)}}
In an interview with ''Portland Monthly'' on December 18, 2012, Franzen revealed that he currently had "a four-page, single-spaced proposal" for a fifth novel he was currently working on,<ref name="portlandmonthlymag.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.portlandmonthlymag.com/arts-and-entertainment/books-and-talks/articles/q-and-a-with-jonathan-franzen-january-2013|title=Q&A: Jonathan Franzen|work=portlandmonthlymag.com|access-date=June 3, 2015|archive-date=December 19, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121219085319/http://www.portlandmonthlymag.com/arts-and-entertainment/books-and-talks/articles/q-and-a-with-jonathan-franzen-january-2013|url-status=live}}</ref> although he went on to suggest that while he had a proposal there was no guarantee that what was proposed would make the final cut, saying of similar proposals for previous novels, "I look at the old proposals now, and I see the one part of them that actually got made into a book, and I think, 'How come I couldn't see that? What is all this other stuff?'".<ref name="portlandmonthlymag.com"/> Franzen also hinted that the new novel would probably also be long, adding "I've let go of any illusion that I'm a writer of 150-page novels. I need room to let things turn around over time and see them from the whole lives of other characters, not just the single character. For better or worse, one point of view never seems to do it for me."<ref name="portlandmonthlymag.com"/> In October 2014, during a discussion at [[Colgate University]], Franzen read a "self-contained first-person narrative" that is part of a novel that he hoped will be out in the summer of 2015.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Rice|first1=Jessica|title=Author Jonathan Franzen visits Colgate as part of Living Writers course|url=http://news.colgate.edu/2014/10/author-jonathan-franzen-visits-colgate-as-part-of-living-writers-course.html/|website=Colgate University|access-date=November 3, 2014|archive-date=November 4, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141104014128/http://news.colgate.edu/2014/10/author-jonathan-franzen-visits-colgate-as-part-of-living-writers-course.html/|url-status=live}}</ref>

On November 17, 2014, ''[[The New York Times]]'' Artsbeat Blog reported that the novel, titled ''Purity'', would be out in September.<ref name="artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com">{{cite web|last1=Alter|first1=Alexandra|title=New Jonathan Franzen Novel, 'Purity,' Coming in September|url=http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/11/17/new-jonathan-franzen-novel-purity-coming-in-september/|website=Colgate The New York Times Blog|date=November 17, 2014|access-date=November 17, 2014|archive-date=November 19, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141119063706/http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/11/17/new-jonathan-franzen-novel-purity-coming-in-september/|url-status=live}}</ref> Jonathan Galassi, president and publisher of Farrar, Straus & Giroux, described ''Purity'' as a multigenerational American epic that spans decades and continents. The story centers on a young woman named Purity Tyler, or Pip, who doesn't know who her father is and sets out to uncover his identity. The narrative stretches from contemporary America to South America to East Germany before the [[Fall of the Berlin Wall|collapse of the Berlin Wall]], and hinges on the mystery of Pip's family history and her relationship with a charismatic 
hacker and whistleblower.<ref name="artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com"/>

In 2016, ''[[Daily Variety]]'' reported that the novel was in the process of being adapted into a 20-hour limited series for [[Showtime (TV network)|Showtime]] by [[Todd Field]] who would share writing duties with Franzen and the playwright [[Sir David Hare]]. It would star [[Daniel Craig]] as Andreas Wolf and be executive produced by Field, Franzen, Craig, Hare & [[Scott Rudin]].<ref>{{cite news|first=Elizabeth|last=Wagmeister|url=https://variety.com/2016/tv/news/purity-showtime-daniel-craig-scott-rudin-1201753115|title=Showtime Lands Daniel Craig, Scott Rudin Limited Series 'Purity'|work=Daily Variety|year=2016|access-date=December 15, 2017|archive-date=December 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201100525/http://variety.com/2016/tv/news/purity-showtime-daniel-craig-scott-rudin-1201753115/|url-status=live}}</ref>

However, in a February 2018 interview with ''[[The Times]]'' London, Hare said that, given the budget for Field's adaptation (170 million), he doubted it would ever be made, but added "It was one of the richest and most interesting six weeks of my life, sitting in a room with Todd Field, Jonathan Franzen and Daniel Craig bashing out the story. They're extremely interesting people."<ref>{{cite news|first=Dominic|last=Maxwell|url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/david-hare-i-am-sick-to-death-of-hearing-about-the-need-for-strong-women-as-protagonists-83scsqlsv|title=David Hare: 'I am sick to death of hearing about the need for strong women as protagonists'|work=[[The Times]]|year=2018|access-date=February 13, 2018|archive-date=February 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180213195612/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/david-hare-i-am-sick-to-death-of-hearing-about-the-need-for-strong-women-as-protagonists-83scsqlsv|url-status=live}}</ref>

''Purity'' was a relative commercial disappointment compared to Franzen's two previous novels, selling only 255,476 copies, compared to 1.15 million copies of ''Freedom'' and 1.6 million copies of ''The Corrections''.<ref name="NYTimesMag">{{Cite news|last=Brodesser-Akner|first=Taffy|date=June 26, 2018|title=Jonathan Franzen Is Fine With All of It|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/26/magazine/jonathan-franzen-is-fine-with-all-of-it.html|access-date=March 5, 2023|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=June 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180626165506/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/26/magazine/jonathan-franzen-is-fine-with-all-of-it.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== ''A Key to All Mythologies'' ===
On November 13, 2020, Franzen's publisher Farrar, Straus and Giroux announced the publication of Franzen's new novel, ''[[Crossroads (novel)|Crossroads]]'', the first volume in a trilogy titled ''A Key to All Mythologies.''<ref>{{Cite web|title=New Franzen Novel Set for October 2021|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/84894-new-franzen-novel-set-for-next-october.html|access-date=November 15, 2020|website=www.publishersweekly.com|archive-date=September 30, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210930045816/https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/84894-new-franzen-novel-set-for-next-october.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Farrar, Straus and Giroux|url=https://www.facebook.com/fsgbooks/posts/10158203505803052 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/54710083051/10158203505803052 |archive-date=February 26, 2022 |url-access=limited|access-date=November 15, 2020|website=www.facebook.com|language=en}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=November 13, 2020|title=Briefs: New Books From Franzen and Bridges, Chronicle Expands In Games and Toys|url=https://lunch.publishersmarketplace.com/2020/11/briefs-new-books-from-franzen-and-bridges-chronicle-expands-in-games-and-toys/|access-date=November 15, 2020|website=Publishers Lunch|language=en-US|archive-date=November 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201113160516/https://lunch.publishersmarketplace.com/2020/11/briefs-new-books-from-franzen-and-bridges-chronicle-expands-in-games-and-toys/|url-status=live}}</ref>

''Crossroads'' was published October 5, 2021.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite web|title=Crossroads: A Novel {{!}} Jonathan Franzen {{!}} Macmillan|url=https://us.macmillan.com/crossroadsanovel/jonathanfranzen/9780374181178|access-date=November 15, 2020|website=US Macmillan|language=en-US}}{{Dead link|date=November 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

The novel received mostly favorable reviews, with a cumulative "Positive" rating at the [[review aggregator]] website [[Book Marks]], based on 48 book reviews from mainstream literary critics.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Book Marks reviews of Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen|url=https://bookmarks.reviews/reviews/crossroads/|url-status=live|access-date=November 3, 2021|website=[[Literary Hub]]|archive-date=September 30, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210930045825/https://bookmarks.reviews/reviews/crossroads/}}</ref> ''[[Bookforum]]'' called it Franzen's "finest novel yet," his "greatest and most perfect novel,"<ref>{{Cite web|last=Guan|first=Frank|date=Fall 2021|title=Hell Can Wait|url=https://www.bookforum.com/print/2803/jonathan-franzen-makes-history-again-24609|url-status=live|access-date=November 3, 2021|website=[[Bookforum]]|language=en-US|archive-date=September 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210907125316/https://www.bookforum.com/print/2803/jonathan-franzen-makes-history-again-24609}}</ref> and [[Dwight Garner]] of the ''[[The New York Times|New York Times]]'' said it was "warmer than anything he's yet written, wider in its human sympathies, weightier of image and intellect."<ref name="Garner-2021">{{Cite news|last=Garner|first=Dwight|date=September 27, 2021|title=Jonathan Franzen's 'Crossroads,' a Mellow, '70s-Era Heartbreaker That Starts a Trilogy|language=en-US|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/27/books/review-jonathan-franzen-crossroads.html|access-date=November 3, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=November 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211103080432/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/27/books/review-jonathan-franzen-crossroads.html|url-status=live}}</ref> According to the ''[[The Times Literary Supplement|Times Literary Supplement]]'':<blockquote>''Crossroads'' is largely free from the vices to which Franzen's previous work has been addicted: the self-conscious topicality; the show-off sophistication; the formal heavy-handedness. It retains many of his familiar virtues: the robust characterization; the escalating comedy; the virtuosic command of narrative rhythm.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Gordon|first=Edmund|date=October 1, 2021|title=Divorce, Doubt and Doobies|url=https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/crossroads-jonathan-franzen-book-review-edmund-gordon/|url-status=live|access-date=November 3, 2021|website=[[The Times Literary Supplement]]|language=en-GB|archive-date=September 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210929204241/https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/crossroads-jonathan-franzen-book-review-edmund-gordon/}}</ref></blockquote>Critics especially praised the character of Marion, whom Garner called "one of the glorious characters in recent American fiction."<ref name="Garner-2021" /><ref>{{Cite news|last=Alam|first=Rumaan|date=October 18, 2021|title=Leaps of Faith: Jonathan Franzen's Midwestern Saga|language=|work=[[The Nation]]|url=https://www.thenation.com/article/culture/jonathan-franzen-crossroads/|access-date=November 3, 2021|issn=0027-8378|archive-date=October 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020001530/https://www.thenation.com/article/culture/jonathan-franzen-crossroads/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Grady|first=Constance|date=October 5, 2021|title=Jonathan Franzen's Crossroads is an opus on humiliation. It's very good|url=https://www.vox.com/culture/22708681/crossroads-jonathan-franzen-review|url-status=live|access-date=November 3, 2021|website=[[Vox (website)|Vox]]|language=en|archive-date=October 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211005194841/https://www.vox.com/culture/22708681/crossroads-jonathan-franzen-review}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Somers|first=Erin|date=September 29, 2021|title=Jonathan Franzen sticks with what works—and loses what doesn't—in the excellent Crossroads|url=https://www.avclub.com/jonathan-franzen-sticks-with-what-works-and-loses-what-1847751729|url-status=live|access-date=November 3, 2021|website=[[The A.V. Club]]|language=en-us|archive-date=September 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210929163337/https://www.avclub.com/jonathan-franzen-sticks-with-what-works-and-loses-what-1847751729}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Friedell|first=Deborah|date=October 21, 2021|title=Sex with Satan|language=en|volume=43|work=[[London Review of Books]]|issue=20|url=https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v43/n20/deborah-friedell/sex-with-satan|access-date=November 3, 2021|issn=0260-9592|archive-date=October 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211026042510/https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v43/n20/deborah-friedell/sex-with-satan|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Rothfeld|first=Becca|date=October 4, 2021|title=Jonathan Franzen's Best Book Yet|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/11/jonathan-franzen-crossroads/620176/|url-status=live|access-date=November 3, 2021|website=[[The Atlantic]]|language=en|archive-date=October 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211004112229/https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/11/jonathan-franzen-crossroads/620176/}}</ref>

The novel is about a pastor, his wife, and four children. It's split into two sections called 'Advent' and 'Easter.' Writing for ''[[The Nation]]'', Rumaan Alam says "in ''Crossroads'', every plotline leads to God."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Alam |first=Rumaan |date=October 18, 2021 |title=Leaps of Faith: Jonathan Franzen's Midwestern saga |work=[[The Nation]] |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/culture/jonathan-franzen-crossroads/ |access-date=March 5, 2023 |issn=0027-8378 |archive-date=October 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020001530/https://www.thenation.com/article/culture/jonathan-franzen-crossroads/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Other works ===
[[File:Jonathan Franzen 1.jpg|thumb| Franzen in 2010]]
In 1996, while still working on ''The Corrections'', Franzen published a literary manifesto in ''Harper's Magazine'' entitled "[[Why Bother? (essay)|Perchance to Dream]]". Referencing manifestos written by [[Philip Roth]] and [[Stalking the Billion-Footed Beast|Tom Wolfe]], among others, Franzen grappled with the novelist's role in an advanced media culture which seemed to no longer need the novel. In the end, Franzen rejects the goal of writing a great [[social novel]] about issues and ideas, in favor of focusing on the internal lives of characters and their emotions. Given the huge success of ''The Corrections'', this essay offers a prescient look into Franzen's goals as both a literary and commercially minded author.<ref>{{cite news|first=Jonathan|last=Franzen|url=http://www.harpers.org/archive/1996/04/0007955|title=Perchance to dream: In the age of images, a reason to write novels|work=Harper's|year=1996|access-date=April 15, 2011|archive-date=June 8, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608132005/http://www.harpers.org/archive/1996/04/0007955|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2002, Franzen published a critique of the novels of [[William Gaddis]], entitled "[[Mr. Difficult]]", in ''[[The New Yorker]]''. He begins by recounting how some readers felt ''The Corrections'' was spoiled by being too high-brow in parts, and summarizes his own views of reading difficult fiction. He proposes a "Status model", whereby the point of fiction is to be Art, and also a "Contract model", whereby the point of fiction is to be Entertainment, and finds that he subscribes to both models. He praises ''[[The Recognitions]]'', admits that he only got halfway through ''[[J R]]'', and explains why he does not like the rest of Gaddis's novels.<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Jonathan|last=Franzen|url=https://www.newyorker.com/archive/2002/09/30/020930fa_fact_franzen|title=Mr. Difficult|magazine=[[The New Yorker]]|year=2002|access-date=April 16, 2020|archive-date=June 8, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140608012517/http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2002/09/30/020930fa_fact_franzen|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2004, Franzen published "The Discomfort Zone", a personal essay about his childhood and family life in Missouri and his love of [[Charles M. Schulz]]'s ''[[Peanuts]]'', in ''[[The New Yorker]]''. [[Susan Orlean]] selected it for the subsequent volume of ''[[The Best American Essays]]''.<ref name="resources">{{cite news |last=Cohen |first=Lisa |url=http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/print/html?reqURI=/apc/members/courses/teachers_corner/180039.html |title=Resources for Graphic Novels |work=AP Central |access-date=October 4, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304083624/http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/print/html?reqURI=%2Fapc%2Fmembers%2Fcourses%2Fteachers_corner%2F180039.html |archive-date=March 4, 2016 }}</ref>
{{external media| float = right| video1 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?195398-5/discomfort-zone-personal-history Presentation by Franzen on ''The Discomfort Zone'' at the Miami Book Fair International, November 18, 2006], [[C-SPAN]]}}
Since ''The Corrections'' Franzen has published ''[[How to Be Alone (book)|How to Be Alone]]'' (2002), a collection of essays including "Perchance To Dream", and ''[[The Discomfort Zone]]'' (2006), a memoir. ''How To Be Alone'' is essentially an apologia for reading, articulating Franzen's uncomfortable relationship with the place of fiction in contemporary society. It also probes the influence of his childhood and adolescence on his creative life, which is then further explored in ''The Discomfort Zone''.

In September 2007, Franzen's translation of [[Frank Wedekind]]'s play ''[[Spring Awakening (play)|Spring Awakening]]'' ({{langx|de|link=no|Frühlings Erwachen}}) was published. In his introduction, Franzen describes the [[Spring Awakening (musical)|Broadway musical version]] as "insipid" and "overpraised." In an interview with ''[[New York (magazine)|New York]]'' magazine, Franzen stated that he had in fact made the translation for Swarthmore College's theater department for $50 in 1986 and that it had sat in a drawer for 20 years since. After the Broadway show stirred up so much interest, Franzen said he was inspired to publish it because "I knew it was a good translation, better than anything else out there."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://nymag.com/arts/books/features/37214/|title=Q&A With 'Spring Awakening: A Play' Translator Jonathan Franzen|date=September 10, 2007|access-date=January 21, 2009|archive-date=August 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811112018/https://nymag.com/arts/books/features/37214/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Franzen published a social commentary on cell phones, sentimentality, and the decline of public space, "I Just Called To Say I Love You" (2008),<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.technologyreview.com/communications/21173/?a=f|title=I Just Called to Say I Love You|date=September 2008|work=Technology Review|access-date=December 1, 2010|archive-date=September 19, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110919100651/http://www.technologyreview.com/communications/21173/?a=f}}</ref> in the September/October 2008 issue of ''[[MIT Technology Review]]''.

In 2012 he published ''[[Farther Away (book)|Farther Away]]'', a collection of essays dealing with such topics as his love of birds, his friendship with [[David Foster Wallace]], and his thoughts on technology.<ref>{{cite news|last=Lopate|first=Phillip|title=Manageable Discontents|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/20/books/review/farther-away-essays-by-jonathan-franzen.html?pagewanted=all|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=July 18, 2012|date=May 18, 2012|archive-date=September 29, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150929082955/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/20/books/review/farther-away-essays-by-jonathan-franzen.html?pagewanted=all|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2013, Franzen published ''The Kraus Project''. It consists of three major essays by the "Perennially ... impossible to translate"<ref name="melleragency.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.melleragency.com/shared/detail.php?id=24916|title=Michael Meller Literary Agency|work=melleragency.com|access-date=June 3, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141104185754/http://www.melleragency.com/shared/detail.php?id=24916|archive-date=November 4, 2014}}</ref> Austrian "playwright, poet, social commentator and satirical genius"<ref name="melleragency.com"/> [[Karl Kraus (writer)|Karl Kraus]] – "Heine and the Consequences" a takedown of the beloved German poet, "Nestroy and Posterity" which established that playwright's reputation in Austria to this day, and "Afterword to Heine and the Consequences"".<ref name="melleragency.com"/> The essays are accompanied by "Franzen's [own] plentiful, trenchant yet off-beat annotations"<ref name="melleragency.com"/> taking on "... Kraus' mantle-commenting on what Kraus would say (and what Franzen's opinion is) about [[Macintosh|Macs]] and [[Personal computer|PCs]]; decrying Twitter's claim of credit for the [[Arab Spring]]; and unfurling how media conglomerates influence politics in their quest for profits."<ref name="melleragency.com"/>

Franzen published his third essay collection, ''The End of the End of the Earth: Essays'', in November 2018.<ref name="us.macmillan.com">{{Cite web|url=https://us.macmillan.com/theendoftheendoftheearth/jonathanfranzen/9780374147938/|title=The End of the End of the Earth &#124; Jonathan Franzen &#124; Macmillan|access-date=January 27, 2018|archive-date=January 28, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180128190421/https://us.macmillan.com/theendoftheendoftheearth/jonathanfranzen/9780374147938/|url-status=live}}</ref> According to advance press for the book, the collection "gathers essays and speeches written mostly in the past five years, [and] Jonathan Franzen returns with renewed vigor to the themes—both human and literary—that have long preoccupied him. Whether exploring his complex relationship with his uncle, recounting his young adulthood in New York, or offering an illuminating look at the global seabird crisis, these pieces contain all the wit and disabused realism that we've come to expect from Franzen.
Taken together, these essays trace the progress of a unique and mature mind wrestling with itself, with literature, and with some of the most important issues of our day, made more pressing by the current political milieu. The End of the End of the Earth is remarkable, provocative, and necessary."<ref name="us.macmillan.com"/>

In September 2019, Franzen published an essay on climate change in ''The New Yorker'' entitled "What If We Stopped Pretending?",<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/what-if-we-stopped-pretending|title=What if We Stopped Pretending the Climate Apocalypse Can Be Stopped?|last=Franzen|first=Jonathan|magazine=The New Yorker|date=September 8, 2019|access-date=December 30, 2019|language=en|issn=0028-792X|archive-date=November 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201115013836/https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/what-if-we-stopped-pretending|url-status=live}}</ref> which generated controversy among scientists and online pundits because of its alleged pessimism.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.popsci.com/climate-change-new-yorker-franzen-corrections/|title=Can we still prevent an apocalypse? What Jonathan Franzen gets wrong about climate change|website=Popular Science|date=September 11, 2019|language=en|access-date=December 30, 2019|archive-date=December 30, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191230041907/https://www.popsci.com/climate-change-new-yorker-franzen-corrections/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/scientists-blast-jonathan-franzens-climate-doomist-new-yorker-op-ed-2019-9|title=Scientists blast Jonathan Franzen's 'climate doomist' opinion column as 'the worst piece on climate change'|last=Rogers|first=Taylor Nicole|website=Business Insider|access-date=December 30, 2019|archive-date=December 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191212140333/https://www.businessinsider.com/scientists-blast-jonathan-franzens-climate-doomist-new-yorker-op-ed-2019-9|url-status=live}}</ref> The term ''[[doomerism]]'' became popular amid the response to the piece.<ref name="Purtill">{{cite news |last1=Purtill |first1=James |title=Breaking up over climate change: My deep dark journey into doomer Facebook |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |date=November 7, 2019 |url=https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/hack/breaking-up-over-climate-change-my-journey-into-doomer-facebook/11678736 |access-date=October 23, 2021 |archive-date=March 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200304121143/https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/hack/breaking-up-over-climate-change-my-journey-into-doomer-facebook/11678736 |url-status=live }}</ref> A [[Sierra Club]] interview with Franzen, from January 2019 further explores Franzen's feelings about climate change and action.<ref name="Renner">{{Cite web |last=Renner |first=Serena |title=Jonathan Franzen's Controversial Stance on Climate Action |date=January 7, 2019 |website=Sierra |publisher=Sierra Club |url=https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/jonathan-franzens-controversial-stance-climate-action |access-date=December 30, 2019 |archive-date=December 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191230041853/https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/jonathan-franzens-controversial-stance-climate-action |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Example needed|date=October 2021}}

In an interview with ''Transatlantica'' conducted in March 2018, Franzen mentioned that he had just started work on a new novel, having recently sold it to publishers on the basis of a three-page proposal.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Potier|first=Jérémy|date=November 29, 2018|title=An Interview with Jonathan Franzen|url=https://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/8943|journal=Transatlantica. Revue d'études américaines. American Studies Journal|language=en|issue=1|doi=10.4000/transatlantica.8943|issn=1765-2766|access-date=April 24, 2020|archive-date=June 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611162200/https://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/8943|url-status=live|doi-access=free}}</ref> Later that year, in a profile piece for ''The New York Times Magazine'' in June 2018, Franzen confirmed that he was currently at work on the early stages of his sixth novel, which he speculated could be his last. "So, I may be wrong ... But somehow this new one really does feel like my last.".<ref name="NYTimesMag" /> Subsequently, in an interview reproduced on ''[[The Millions]]'' website in April 2020, Franzen mentioned that he was "almost done" with writing this sixth novel.<ref>{{Cite web|date=April 23, 2020|title=Giving Voice to Shame and Fear: The Millions Interviews Jonathan Franzen|url=https://themillions.com/2020/04/giving-voice-to-shame-and-fear-the-millions-interviews-jonathan-franzen.html|access-date=March 5, 2023|website=The Millions|language=en-US|archive-date=April 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200426164029/https://themillions.com/2020/04/giving-voice-to-shame-and-fear-the-millions-interviews-jonathan-franzen.html|url-status=live |last=Qian |first=Jianan}}</ref> ''Crossroads: A Novel'' was published on October 5, 2021.