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/lit/ - Literature

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22878622 No.22878622 [Reply] [Original]

Does Franzen write women's books for men?

>> No.22878726

No. He is pretty much the continuation of the mid century American realists but with 50% less penis which is still more penis than most male writers. He takes the mid century American realist style and makes it about the family instead of the individual, the main character of his novels tends to be the family dynamic itself. I can't think of any chick lit like Franzen, if you really wanted to reduce him like that it would be that he writes DFW novels for mortals.

>> No.22878729

>>22878726
Very good post, unsure why an intelligent person reads Franzen

>> No.22878743

his take on academia and male feminists in the corrections was spot on and the corrections came out in 2001.

>> No.22878751

>>22878729
Because he is an amazing author and few if any deal with human interaction and communication as well as he does? I was not shitting on Franzen, The Corrections and Freedom are great.

>> No.22878756

>>22878726
Ok. I wasn't sure. I read The Corrections a week ago and now I'm reading Freedom and all the worry, stress, uncertainty, tension, and drama of American Midwest families has drawn me in.

>> No.22878763
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22878763

>>22878743
>>22878751
>>22878756
>tfw I shit on Franzen ITT while never having given him a fair shake and now I am convinced I should at least give him a try
My hubris was my downfall

>> No.22878770

>>22878763
understandable, dorky looking dude who writes oprah approved shit about midwestern families? sounds like shit! but he's actually good.

>> No.22878774

>>22878756
He is really good at that, every character is petty and self absorbed but he gets you to care about them and socks you into it all so quickly.

>> No.22878835

>>22878774
Characters like that, and directionless, depressed, unhappy, are my favorite, and almost all of his are. He's easy to read and full of drama which lead to my shallow OP question.

>> No.22878910

>>22878835
Franzen offers a good deal of depth and generally enough nuance that it can not be reduced down to "supports my ideology" as the above poster did. But he was still figuring out some aspects of his technique when he wrote The Corrections and it has some failings in that regard.