Jonathan Franzen is known for his fiction work The Corrections, but the past couple days I’ve been reading his collection of non-fiction essays entitled How to Be Alone. Franzen is a beautiful writer and critic. This collection includes his famous essay on the decline of the social novel from Harpers, a wonderful take on the dysfunctional Chicago post office system (post offices have always been an odd fascination for me), a heartfelt recollection of his father’s mental atrophy, and of course several pieces on reading and writing.
My introverted streak likes being alone. Being alone with Franzen’s writing is a treat.