Jonathan Franzen Biography

Jonathan Franzen, Novelist
Attr: Lesekreis, CC0
Born asJonathan Earl Franzen
Occup.Novelist
FromUSA
SpouseValerie Cornell ​(divorced)
BornAugust 17, 1959
Western Springs, Illinois, USA
Age64 years
Early Life
Jonathan Earl Franzen was born upon August 17, 1959, in Western Springs, Illinois, USA. His daddy, Earl T. Franzen, was a civil designer, as well as his mom, Irene Super Franzen, worked as a housewife. Jonathan has 2 younger bros, Tom and also Chuck. The family moved to Webster Groves, a suburban area of St. Louis, Missouri, in 1965.

Franzen matured in a middle-class, Lutheran house, and also got a rigorous childhood. He became an enthusiastic reader from a very early age, partially because of his mom's impact as an enthusiastic publication enthusiast. He went to Webster Groves High School, where he began to develop a passion in composing.

Education and learning
Jonathan Franzen attended Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, graduating in 1981 with a Bachelor's degree in German. He studied thoroughly in Germany, both throughout college and also after graduation. Franzen likewise took courses at the Free University of Berlin and also later earned a Fulbright scholarship to examine at the Technische Universität Berlin. It was throughout his time in Germany that Franzen's affinity for literary works and also creating grew a lot more extensive.

Occupation
After going back to the United States, Franzen started his profession as an author. He initially worked as a research study aide at Harvard University's Department of Earth and also Planetary Sciences but quickly started focusing on composing fiction. Jonathan Franzen's literary career removed in the late 1980s with the publication of his initial story, "The Twenty-Seventh City" (1988). Although not a business success, guide brought in crucial praise as well as developed him as an appealing brand-new voice in the literary globe.

His 2nd book, "Strong Motion" (1992), further strengthened his credibility as a gifted author checking out facility themes and also personalities. Nonetheless, it was not till the magazine of "The Corrections" (2001) that Franzen attained commercial success and prevalent acknowledgment. The unique, which focuses on the life of a Midwestern family members, won the National Book Award as well as became a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.

"The Corrections" likewise produced dispute when Franzen refused to have his book included in Oprah's Book Club, mentioning problems about the show's influence on literary function and worth. The episode marked a turning factor in Franzen's occupation, bringing him under the general public limelight as well as triggering debates about literary elitism and also popular culture.

Jonathan Franzen remained to create critically acclaimed works, including "Freedom" (2010) as well as "Purity" (2015). These novels additionally sealed his condition as one of America's primary contemporary authors.

Personal Life
Franzen married a fellow writer, Valerie Cornell, in 1982. They resided in Somerville, Massachusetts, before relocating to New York City in 1987. The pair separated in 1994 however continued to be legitimately married until Cornell's fatality in 2020.

Throughout his life, Franzen has actually kept close relationships with many fellow writers and also artists, including David Foster Wallace, a close friend that died in 2008. Franzen's essay, "Farther Away", chronicles his trip to manage Wallace's death and reflects on their friendship.

Aside from writing, Franzen is known for his eager passion in bird-watching and environmental conservation. He has created several essays as well as short articles supporting for the security of birds and their environments.

Achievements and also Legacy
Jonathan Franzen is taken into consideration one of the most prominent writers of his generation, recognized for his keen monitorings of modern American society and society. His novels frequently discover motifs such as family members dynamics, love, dependency, as well as environmentalism. He is additionally an accomplished author, resolving topics varying from the state of the novel to the role of modern technology in contemporary life.

Throughout his profession, Franzen has amassed numerous accolades and awards for his job. Along with winning the National Book Award as well as being a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, Franzen got a James Tait Black Memorial Prize, a Whiting Award, as well as a Guggenheim Fellowship. He was also the very first recipient of the Leipzig Book Award for European Understanding in 2007.

Jonathan Franzen's literary works have actually made a substantial influence on contemporary American literary works, inspiring various other writers and also adding to the ongoing discourse of the human condition. His distinct perspective on family, society, as well as the environment will certainly continue to influence as well as form the literary landscape for years to find.

Our collection contains 22 quotes who is written / told by Jonathan.

Related authors: David Foster Wallace (Writer), Lawrence Taylor (Athlete)

Jonathan Franzen Famous Works:
Source / external links:

22 Famous quotes by Jonathan Franzen

Small: s one of the perversities of the age: Im embarrassed by its success, but Im happy its selling
"'s one of the perversities of the age: I'm embarrassed by its success, but I'm happy it's selling"
Small: When I finally gave up any hope of doing anything representative of the American family, I actually see
"When I finally gave up any hope of doing anything representative of the American family, I actually seemed to have tapped into other people's weirdness in that way"
Small: We may freak out globally, but we suffer locally
"We may freak out globally, but we suffer locally"
Small: The Mekons were kind of like the background music of my life
"The Mekons were kind of like the background music of my life"
Small: If youre interested in how people behave, if youre interested in the way they talk about themselves, th
"If you're interested in how people behave, if you're interested in the way they talk about themselves, the way the conceive of themselves, it's very hard to ignore drugs nowadays, because that is so much part of the conversation"
Small: I was unwise enough to actually mention this in public a few times, and in fact to point out that there
"I was unwise enough to actually mention this in public a few times, and in fact to point out that there were two versions of the book now. One of them had somebody else's name on the cover, one had my name on the cover"
Small: I was about 13, in some ways, when I wrote the first book. Approximately 18 when I wrote the second
"I was about 13, in some ways, when I wrote the first book. Approximately 18 when I wrote the second"
Small: I feel as if Im clearly part of a trend among writers who take themselves seriously - and I confess to
"I feel as if I'm clearly part of a trend among writers who take themselves seriously - and I confess to taking myself as seriously as the next writer"
Small: It seems to me self-evident that if you have a life, things happen in it, and certain things do change
"It seems to me self-evident that if you have a life, things happen in it, and certain things do change; certain things end. People you know die"
Small: And Silence of the Lambs is a really smart book
"And Silence of the Lambs is a really smart book"
Small: I voluntarily inflicted a certain level of insanity on myself
"I voluntarily inflicted a certain level of insanity on myself"
Small: I really enjoy doing both, but I didnt write nonfiction until 1994
"I really enjoy doing both, but I didn't write nonfiction until 1994"
Small: Its very liberating for me to realize that I dont have to step up to the plate with a plot that involve
"It's very liberating for me to realize that I don't have to step up to the plate with a plot that involves the U.N. Security Council"
Small: I wrote two plotted books, got some of the fundamentals of storytelling down, then... its sort of like
"I wrote two plotted books, got some of the fundamentals of storytelling down, then... it's sort of like taking the training wheels off, trying to write a book that's fun in the same way without relying on quite such mechanical or external beats"
Small: The real pleasure in writing this, for me, was discovering how little you need
"The real pleasure in writing this, for me, was discovering how little you need"
Small: I look at my father, who was in many ways an unhappy person, but who, not long before he got sick, said
"I look at my father, who was in many ways an unhappy person, but who, not long before he got sick, said that the greatest source of satisfaction in his life had been going to work in the company of other workers"
Small: I hate that word dysfunction
"I hate that word dysfunction"
Small: Its not surprising to see in my own work, looking back, and in the work of some of my peers, an attenti
"It's not surprising to see in my own work, looking back, and in the work of some of my peers, an attention to family. It's nice to write a book that does tend toward significance and meaning, and where else are you sure of finding it?"
Small: Its just a matter of writing the kind of book I enjoy reading. Something better be happening at the beg
"It's just a matter of writing the kind of book I enjoy reading. Something better be happening at the beginning, and then on every page after, or I get irritated"
Small: I was a late child from my parents, so I grew up surrounded by people a lot older than me. I think even
"I was a late child from my parents, so I grew up surrounded by people a lot older than me. I think even when I was 21, I felt like I was a 70-year-old man"
Small: I used to think it was hard to write, and I still find the process more or less unpleasant, but if I kn
"I used to think it was hard to write, and I still find the process more or less unpleasant, but if I know what I'm doing it rattles along, then the rewrite whips it into shape rather quickly"
Small: But as far as being popular, yeah, I think Dave Barry is really funny
"But as far as being popular, yeah, I think Dave Barry is really funny"