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Jonathan Franzen talks about his latest novel, Freedom. It’s an epic of contemporary love and marriage that comically and tragically captures the temptations and burdens of liberty—the thrills of teenage lust, the compromises of middle age, the wages of suburban sprawl, the heavy weight of empire. It tells the story of Walter and Patty Berglund as they struggle to come to terms with an ever more confusing world.

Ever since Jonathan Franzen wowed the literary world with his 2001 novel The Corrections, he's been hailed as the next great American writer. His latest book Freedom, out in paperback later this month, was another roundly praised bestseller. At this point, Franzen makes it look easy ...

Bonus Track: an extended cut of Kurt and Jonathan Franzen's conversation

Ever since Jonathan Franzen wowed the literary world with his 2001 novel The Corrections, he's been hailed as the next great American writer. Kurt talks to Franzen about the perils of literary success and his new novel Freedom, another epic about a colorful and ...

Our extended cut of Kurt's conversation with Jonathan Franzen, in which the novelist talks about the influence of Tolstoy on his writing, and laments being recognized during a trip to the supermarket for sugar-free Jell-O.

Event
There will be a reading of the book tonight at The New School featuring Franzen, author Sarah Vowell and actress Parker Posey among others.

Question of ...