Jonathan Franzen / Photo by Jakub Mosur In case you just got back from the BWCA and haven't read a thing about it, know these facts: 1--Jonathan Franzen, author of the "The Corrections," has a new novel out, his first in nine years. It's called "Freedom." 2—Franzen has gotten huge press already, including the cover of Time magazine and two rave reviews (#1 and #2) in the New York Times, including one that called "Freedom" "a masterpiece of American fiction."
3—Novelists Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Weiner have argued, via Tweets and media appearances, that the Times' tends to give preferential treatment to books written by men. To save you time, here is a story on Slate that summarizes the dustup to date, and includes a numerical analysis of the Times' book reviews by gender in the past two years. 4--The Star Tribune on Sunday (Aug. 5) presents a profile of and interview with Franzen, plus a review by Bart Schneider of "Freedom" and a video of Franzen reading the opening of the novel. 5—Franzen is in the Twin Cities Sept. 21 for a (sold out) Talking Volumes appearance at the Fitzgerald Theater, a talk that will be rebroadcast Sept. 23 on Minnesota Public Radio.
