Jonathan Franzen on Ambition, Plot, Childhood, Birdwatching, and Life-Changing Advice

In today's flashback, an outtake from Episode 426, my conversation with Jonathan Franzen from August 2016. He is the author of six novels, most recently Crossroads. He has also published five works of nonfiction, including The Discomfort Zone, Farther Away, and The End of the End of the Earth. Over the course of his career, Franzen has received the National Book Award, the James Tait Black Memorial Award, the Heartland Prize, Die Welt Literature Prize, the Budapest Grand Prize, and the first Carlos Fuentes Medal awarded at the Guadalajara International Book Fair. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the German Akademie der Künste, and the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. I spoke with Jonathan Franzen as the paperback edition of his bestselling novel Purity was being published. Air date: August 10, 2016. *** Otherppl with Brad Listi is a weekly literary podcast featuring in-depth interviews with today's leading writers. Available where podcasts are available: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeart Radio, etc. Subscribe to Brad Listi’s email newsletter. Support the show on Patreon Merch @otherppl Instagram  YouTube TikTok Email the show: letters [at] otherppl [dot] com The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local, independent bookstores. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices