The Japan Times - Jonathan Franzen: critics right to suspect 'white male authors'

EUR -
AED 3.823403
AFN 79.112634
ALL 98.10997
AMD 415.0708
ANG 1.876424
AOA 950.914404
ARS 1090.13111
AUD 1.659265
AWG 1.876324
AZN 1.780543
BAM 1.949902
BBD 2.102152
BDT 126.965967
BGN 1.955843
BHD 0.392336
BIF 3034.387996
BMD 1.040956
BND 1.408845
BOB 7.194067
BRL 6.185046
BSD 1.041156
BTN 90.014168
BWP 14.400374
BYN 3.407211
BYR 20402.746043
BZD 2.091384
CAD 1.498212
CDF 2961.52069
CHF 0.943445
CLF 0.037397
CLP 1031.910761
CNY 7.570149
CNH 7.580276
COP 4435.515352
CRC 523.618731
CUC 1.040956
CUP 27.585345
CVE 110.670924
CZK 25.141905
DJF 184.998195
DKK 7.460743
DOP 63.925349
DZD 140.627973
EGP 52.378434
ERN 15.614346
ETB 131.212813
FJD 2.408562
FKP 0.857318
GBP 0.845132
GEL 2.976774
GGP 0.857318
GHS 15.832297
GIP 0.857318
GMD 75.989901
GNF 9010.518536
GTQ 8.047658
GYD 217.718333
HKD 8.106452
HNL 26.542023
HRK 7.681788
HTG 135.959418
HUF 410.896542
IDR 16942.710963
ILS 3.675877
IMP 0.857318
INR 90.014678
IQD 1363.652924
IRR 43824.26542
ISK 146.118712
JEP 0.857318
JMD 163.365869
JOD 0.738454
JPY 162.744156
KES 134.803819
KGS 91.031653
KHR 4196.095255
KMF 491.962147
KPW 936.860903
KRW 1496.551746
KWD 0.320917
KYD 0.867671
KZT 542.362128
LAK 22692.850134
LBP 93196.569507
LKR 310.911084
LRD 202.934565
LSL 19.247218
LTL 3.073674
LVL 0.629664
LYD 5.11628
MAD 10.40592
MDL 19.417176
MGA 4913.314063
MKD 61.532474
MMK 3380.985882
MNT 3537.170063
MOP 8.351798
MRU 41.513457
MUR 48.352199
MVR 16.041213
MWK 1807.618576
MXN 21.341379
MYR 4.624455
MZN 66.527331
NAD 19.247084
NGN 1620.768943
NIO 38.306805
NOK 11.742457
NPR 144.023067
NZD 1.8376
OMR 0.400687
PAB 1.041156
PEN 3.870797
PGK 4.166168
PHP 60.73249
PKR 290.062382
PLN 4.224599
PYG 8235.091411
QAR 3.79012
RON 4.975877
RSD 117.153392
RUB 103.312946
RWF 1449.011352
SAR 3.903939
SBD 8.821823
SCR 14.836374
SDG 625.615326
SEK 11.461935
SGD 1.410709
SHP 0.857318
SLE 23.62895
SLL 21828.335792
SOS 594.901562
SRD 36.51657
STD 21545.696434
SVC 9.110444
SYP 13534.515498
SZL 19.247678
THB 35.29727
TJS 11.39496
TMT 3.653757
TND 3.326376
TOP 2.438027
TRY 37.109758
TTD 7.072641
TWD 34.026804
TZS 2628.415263
UAH 43.728335
UGX 3831.429522
USD 1.040956
UYU 45.562189
UZS 13537.638308
VES 57.972478
VND 26117.596848
VUV 123.584438
WST 2.915539
XAF 653.982049
XAG 0.033826
XAU 0.000378
XCD 2.813236
XDR 0.802178
XOF 654.229378
XPF 119.331742
YER 259.250465
ZAR 19.26425
ZMK 9369.860898
ZMW 29.021522
ZWL 335.187546
  • BCC

    -1.2000

    127.92

    -0.94%

  • JRI

    -0.0400

    12.53

    -0.32%

  • BCE

    -0.2400

    23.15

    -1.04%

  • RBGPF

    0.1600

    62.36

    +0.26%

  • NGG

    -1.5400

    60.05

    -2.56%

  • GSK

    -0.3500

    33.43

    -1.05%

  • CMSD

    -0.0400

    23.96

    -0.17%

  • RIO

    -0.6100

    61.12

    -1%

  • SCS

    -0.2200

    11.58

    -1.9%

  • AZN

    0.2400

    68.2

    +0.35%

  • CMSC

    -0.0600

    23.49

    -0.26%

  • RELX

    -0.2900

    49.26

    -0.59%

  • RYCEF

    0.1500

    7.42

    +2.02%

  • VOD

    -0.1700

    8.38

    -2.03%

  • BTI

    -0.1600

    36.57

    -0.44%

  • BP

    -0.3900

    31.13

    -1.25%

Jonathan Franzen: critics right to suspect 'white male authors'
Jonathan Franzen: critics right to suspect 'white male authors' / Photo: HECTOR GUERRERO - AFP/File

Jonathan Franzen: critics right to suspect 'white male authors'

Jonathan Franzen, a writer beloved by millions of readers, likes coming to Europe where he doesn't face "the baggage" his public persona carries back in the United States.

Text size:

Novels such as "The Corrections" and "Freedom" have made him one of the foremost literary authors of his generation in the United States, and his most recent, "Crossroads", is seen by some critics as his greatest achievement yet.

But in his home country, his success has been blighted by a somewhat cranky public image that has seen him painted as the epitome of the privileged white man -- someone even set up the web address "ciswhitemale.com" to go straight to Franzen's Facebook page.

At 63, he is patient with his critics.

"America was created by white men. It's still run by white men to the advantage of white men," he told AFP. "If you're a white male writer, you're automatically under suspicion, you're part of the power structure.

"For younger people, especially in these highly political times, I'm wrong until proven right. Anything I do. And I understand that and I accept that. I'm not bitter about it, because I have had enormous privileges simply by being white and middle class in the US."

- 'Offended Oprah' -

His reputation for snobbish privilege was born of a few controversial opinion pieces and public statements, as well as his refusal to have "The Corrections" featured on Oprah Winfrey's book club.

All of which makes him happy to be visiting Europe, where "Crossroads" has just been released.

"In the US, I'm still the guy who offended Oprah, the guy who says unpleasant things on the subject of climate, or the guy who hates cats -- that's the level it is in the US," he said.

"People over here don't have that baggage."

One topic on which he remains unapologetic is climate change, on which he has written extensively -- often angering activists and scientists with his pessimistic outlook.

"The assumption (of activists) is that if we just build enough wind farms, we can save the planet. Sorry, that's not the reality," he said.

"We've passed the tipping point... There's a lot of work to be done in strengthening all sorts of structures to better withstand the increasingly violent shocks we're going to get because of climate change."

- 'My community' -

As for his day job, Franzen's aim, clearly set out in an essay in the 1990s, has been to address societal issues through highly accessible writing and relatable characters.

"There are certain readers who really like hardcore crazy stuff, but there are a lot of readers who read for character and story and I feel that's my community.

"Part of the rules of that community is I'm not going to try to impress you. I'm going to be your friend. I'm not going to be the superior artist who knows more than you do," he added.

"Crossroads" -- which tracks five members of a family in a small US town in the 1970s -- feels like the pinnacle of this focus on character, and is his first not to be set in the present day.

Critics and fans have loved it, with the New York Times calling it "warmer than anything he's yet written".

He knows, however, that his reputation effectively rules out any more awards to add to his National Book Award for "The Corrections".

"I get nice emails from readers. They say thank you for "The Corrections", thank you for "Crossroads". To get one of those in a year makes it all worth it," he said.

"Even if I had some chance of winning another prize in America -- which I don't -- it's like... who cares?"

One question that he is tired of answering is when the sequel is coming, since he initially presented "Crossroads" as the start of a trilogy.

He confirms that he has written some follow-on parts, set in later periods, but said: "It's no fun to write a novel if I know what I am going to do with it.

"It won't be quick."

K.Yoshida--JT