FREEDOM

I've been obsessed with Jonathan Franzen ever since Times' wrote an article on him. It's an illuminating piece, and I really like articles that take you through a writer's methodology. The story focuses primarily on Franzen's latest novel, "Freedom," and the painstakingly slowwww pace at which he writes. It appears that Franzen is also easily distracted; he takes his computer's wireless card out, and then glues part of an ethernet cord into his laptop and then saws the rest off, permanently disabling any chance of the web access. Wow. Franzen's friendship with the late David Foster Wallace is tastefully explored, with the focus on how Wallace's suicide in 2008 affects Franzen but also propelled him to break out of his writer's block. If all this information wasn't enough, Slate.com also wrote a review on "Freedom" and now I desperately want to read it. If you haven't read Franzen's "The Corrections" you should. It's funny, it's sad, and it'll make you appreciate the efforts that go into secret keeping from those closest to us. It's about a family breaking down, one by one. It's sad and it becomes uncomfortable to read because it's relatable (unfortunately) but not without hope, which is what makes any book worth reading.

a Franzen fan, t