The Discomfort Zone
A Personal History

I came to this memoir because the description hints at Franzen's experiences with a Christian youth group in the 70s, and I can report that, YES, you can find the source material for Crossroads right here! First published in 2006 (so between The Corrections and Freedom), there's a strong theme of re......more

There's an old philosophical joke that, in one of its many forms**, runs: "There are two kinds of people in the world—those who think there are two kinds of people in the world, and those who don't". In that spirit, I'd like to propose a corollary, as regards the biographies of writers: there are tw......more

I am perplexed by the New York Times reviewers’ antipathy to this book. I have always found Franzen to be a captivating essayist, and Discomfort Zone is no exception. Most distressing to his critics, it seems, is Discomfort Zone’s abundant narcissism--but I found the essays to be a reflection on you......more

Dimenticabile Raccolta disorganica di articoli giornalistici a sfondo autobiografico di Jonathan Franzen che, partendo dalla morte della madre, e dalla vendita della casa di famiglia, cerca di ripercorrere attraverso i suoi ricordi d'infanzia e dell'adolescanza quella che dovrebbe essere stata una vi......more

Unless you are an employee of the New York Times, it has become uncool to admit to liking Jonathan Franzen. I don't know when Franzen's innate un-hipness became official. Was it when he announced his mixed feelings about his work being included in Oprah's book club? Was it when he wrote his essay on......more