26 Jonathan Franzen Quotes for You to Enjoy

Jonathan Franzen

American Novelist

Born: Aug 17, 1959

Book Life Me People Think You

Related authors: Elie Wiesel Ernest Hemingway H. P. Lovecraft James Baldwin John Updike Leo Rosten Nathaniel Hawthorne Richard Bach

I am not somebody who goes around saying men are superior or that male writers are superior. In fact, I really go out of my way to champion women's work that I think is not getting enough attention. None of that is ever enough. Because a villain is needed. It's like there's no way to make myself not male. Jonathan Franzen

Work Saying Myself Women Champion Men Somebody Superior Think Enough Way Out Fact Writers Attention Like Make Because Around None Am Go Male Goes Getting In Fact Really Who Villain Ever Needed

It's not surprising to see in my own work, looking back, and in the work of some of my peers, an attention to family. It's nice to write a book that does tend toward significance and meaning, and where else are you sure of finding it? Jonathan Franzen

Work Family You Book Looking Looking Back Own Nice Else Back Peers Significance Finding See Some My Own Tend Write Attention Toward Sure Does Surprising Where Meaning

I know what paranoia is like. I know what it is like to worry about what people are saying about you and become obsessed with what people are saying about you. Jonathan Franzen

Saying You People Become Worry Paranoia About Obsessed Like Know

I don't even read positive reviews unless they are absolutely certified by eight different people to not contain one thing that could upset me. Jonathan Franzen

Positive Me People Unless One Thing Could Absolutely Contain Read Reviews Eight Upset Different Different People Certified Even Thing

There used to be rather serious firewalls between the artist and the buying public - the gallery, the publisher. And technology demolishes that wall and basically says, 'Self-promote or die.' And that is a bad head for any sort of artist to be forced into. Jonathan Franzen

Technology Says Bad Rather Head Between Forced Sort Wall Die Any Artist Public Gallery Used Serious Publisher Buying Basically

When I finally gave up any hope of doing anything representative of the American family, I actually seemed to have tapped into other people's weirdness in that way. Jonathan Franzen

Hope Family People Other Gave Finally Way Seemed Weirdness Doing Up American Any Representative American Family Anything Actually

We may freak out globally, but we suffer locally. Jonathan Franzen

Locally Out Freak Globally May Suffer

The real pleasure in writing this, for me, was discovering how little you need. Jonathan Franzen

Me You Writing Pleasure How Real Discovering Real Pleasure Little Need

The Mekons were kind of like the background music of my life. Jonathan Franzen

Life Music My Life Background Kind Like Were

I wrote two plotted books, got some of the fundamentals of storytelling down, then... it's sort of like taking the training wheels off, trying to write a book that's fun in the same way without relying on quite such mechanical or external beats. Jonathan Franzen

Book Training Down Books Way Some Relying Write Beats Taking Like Wrote Sort Without Got Off Trying Same Quite Wheels Storytelling Then Fun Mechanical Fundamentals External Two

I used to think it was hard to write, and I still find the process more or less unpleasant, but if I know what I'm doing it rattles along, then the rewrite whips it into shape rather quickly. Jonathan Franzen

Think Find Unpleasant Rather More More Or Less Write Shape Along Know Still Doing Quickly Rewrite Process Then Used Hard Less

I look at my father, who was in many ways an unhappy person, but who, not long before he got sick, said that the greatest source of satisfaction in his life had been going to work in the company of other workers. Jonathan Franzen

Life Work Unhappy Father Long Before Sick Other Ways Had He Look Greatest Said Got Been His Source Person Going Workers Who Many Company Satisfaction

's one of the perversities of the age: I'm embarrassed by its success, but I'm happy it's selling. Jonathan Franzen

Success Age Happy Embarrassed Selling

Manhattan is just all bank branches. Jonathan Franzen

Branches Bank Just Manhattan

If you have not had direct firsthand experience of loving a category of person - a person of a different race, a profoundly religious person, things that are real stark differences between people - I think it is very hard to dare, or necessarily even want, to write fully from the inside of a person. Jonathan Franzen

You Experience People Differences Think Dare Religious Inside Religious Person Direct Write Had Between Category Firsthand Real Very Person Different Want Loving Race Hard Fully Even Stark Things Necessarily Profoundly

I hate the word 'partner' so much. Jonathan Franzen

Hate Word Partner Much

A big part of me would be very proud never having anything of mine adapted, because if you want the real experience, there's only one way to get it. You're going to actually have to be a reader. Jonathan Franzen

Me You Experience Big Mine Way Would Would-Be One-Way Having Only Only One Way Never Part Reader Because Proud Real Very Get Big Part Going Want Anything Actually Adapted

I hate Whole Foods. Jonathan Franzen

Hate Foods Whole Whole Foods

The radical otherness of birds is integral to their beauty and their value. They are always among us but never of us. Their indifference to us ought to serve as a chastening reminder that we're not the measure of all things. Jonathan Franzen

Value Beauty Radical Birds Ought All Things Indifference Never Reminder Always Integral Us Measure Serve Among Things

One reason that birds matter - ought to matter - is that they are our last, best connection to a natural world that is otherwise receding. They're the most vivid and widespread representatives of the Earth as it was before people arrived on it. Jonathan Franzen

I don't dislike people; I love people. Jonathan Franzen

Love People Dislike

I don't think I could live with someone that I didn't have an intellectual friendship with. Jonathan Franzen

Friendship Live Think Someone Could Intellectual

I think cultures of conformity produce vast quantities of shame, both in people who simply can't conform and people who do conform, but underneath, they're not feeling conformist. Jonathan Franzen

People Feeling Think Both Shame Vast Simply Underneath Quantities Cultures Conform Conformist Conformity Produce Who

I defy anyone to finish Halldor Laxness's 'Independent People' without wetting the pages with tears. Jonathan Franzen

People Tears Independent Defy Finish Without Anyone Pages

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