Being dead's only a problem if you know you're dead, which you never do because you're dead! Jonathan Franzen More Quotes by Jonathan Franzen More Quotes From Jonathan Franzen I'd be surprised if non-fiction writers hate to be interviewed. We all hate them, because there's really nothing to say except "Read the book." Right? At least with non-fiction, you can kind of convey some information, and people can decide for themselves whether they want more of that kind of information. But with a novel, what am I going to do? Jonathan Franzen hate book people If you look at the New Testament, it's a gospel of love. Yes, there's talk of judgement and there's talk of heaven and there's talk of people not getting into heaven, but it doesn't seem to me that the fundamental message of the gospels was one of guilt and retribution so much as love. Jonathan Franzen judgement heaven people I try to write things that can't be made into movies. My novels have thwarted many attempts to film them and I think that was true of the essay, too. If you'd actually tried to be true to the essay, it would have been, perhaps, boring. So taking that narrow little cast of characters and expanding it out, that was what was exciting about the project for me. Jonathan Franzen writing character thinking Only in my 40s did I become a person whose heart lifts whenever he hears a grosbeak singing or a towhee calling, and who hurries out to see a golden plover that's been reported in the neighbourhood, just because it's a beautiful bird, with truly golden plumage, and has flown all the way from Alaska. Jonathan Franzen singing heart beautiful bird 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 myself women work men 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 know you people 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 me upset positive people For most of my life, I didn't pay attention to birds. Jonathan Franzen birds my-life attention life The technology I like is the American paperback edition of 'Freedom.' I can spill water on it, and it would still work! So it's pretty good technology. Jonathan Franzen good freedom technology work 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 die bad technology serious To read is to have experiences; every book changes my life at least a little bit. The first time I can remember this happening was when I was 10, with a biography of Thomas Edison. Jonathan Franzen my-life time remember life The real pleasure in writing this, for me, was discovering how little you need. Jonathan Franzen me you real writing I was unwise enough to actually mention this in public a few times, and in fact to point out that there were two versions of the book now. One of them had somebody else's name on the cover, one had my name on the cover. Jonathan Franzen name now enough book
