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Jonathan Franzen's Reading List

During a dark moment in his early 30s, the author of “The Corrections” and, most recently, “Farther Away: Essays” took solace from the self-help book “The Dance of Anger.”

By the Book: Jonathan Franzen (2013)

NYT By the Book column (2013-04-25).

Source: www.nytimes.com

The Flamethrowers

Rachel Kushner · Buy on Amazon

"I loved Rachel Kushner’s “Flamethrowers.”"

The War of the End of the World

Mario Vargas Llosa · Buy on Amazon

"I also have to mention Mario Vargas Llosa’s “War of the End of the World” and Milan Kundera’s “Unbearable Lightness of Being.”"

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

Milan Kundera · Buy on Amazon

"I picked up “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” more or less to make sure that it was as overrated as I suspected... But they’re still great dreams, and the character who has them, Tereza, is rendered with gorgeous sympathy. I wouldn’t have guessed that a love story so well analyzed philosophically could be so moving in the end."

The Custom of the Country

Edith Wharton · Buy on Amazon

"I’d carefully saved “The Custom of the Country,” and it kept me engrossed the entire way. I finished it in the taxi line at J.F.K., feeling bottomlessly grateful to Edith Wharton."

The Greenlanders

Jane Smiley · Buy on Amazon

"And yet some of my all-time favorite novels are historical — “The Greenlanders” (Jane Smiley), “The Blue Flower” (Penelope Fitzgerald) and “War and Peace.”"

The Blue Flower

Penelope Fitzgerald · Buy on Amazon

"And yet some of my all-time favorite novels are historical — “The Greenlanders” (Jane Smiley), “The Blue Flower” (Penelope Fitzgerald) and “War and Peace.”"

War and Peace

Leo Tolstoy · Buy on Amazon

"And yet some of my all-time favorite novels are historical — “The Greenlanders” (Jane Smiley), “The Blue Flower” (Penelope Fitzgerald) and “War and Peace.”"

The Dance of Anger

Harriet Lerner · Buy on Amazon

"I also remember feeling helped, at least momentarily, by Harriet Lerner’s “Dance of Anger” at a dark moment in my early 30s. It’s the rare self-help book that acknowledges the true difficulty of helping the self."

Libra

Don DeLillo · Buy on Amazon

"A copy of “Libra,” with a nice inscription, that Don DeLillo sent me in 1989. ... after spending my 20s working in near-total isolation and revering DeLillo from afar, I couldn’t believe that I had something signed to me in his own human hand."

Harriet the Spy

Louise Fitzhugh · Buy on Amazon

"As with a lot of writers of my generation, it’s “Harriet the Spy.” My recollection is that her creator, Louise Fitzhugh, died in her 40s. Did she have any idea how many young people decided to be writers after reading her two books about Harriet?"

The Metamorphosis

Franz Kafka · 1915 · Buy on Amazon

"I wish I could have been present when Kafka read “The Metamorphosis” aloud to his friends, who couldn’t stop laughing. The humor is still there in the text, but I would love to know what he did with his voice."

In Search of Lost Time

Marcel Proust · Buy on Amazon

"For the past 20 years or so I’ve been planning to read the final four volumes of “In Search of Lost Time” next."

In Search of Lost Time

Marcel Proust · Buy on Amazon

"For the past 20 years or so I’ve been planning to read the final four volumes of “In Search of Lost Time” next."

Favorite books (2023)

Favorite books recommended by Jonathan Franzen, as compiled by radicalreads.com. Source article: https://radicalreads.com/jonathan-franzen-favorite-books/.

Source: radicalreads.com

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