How to Be Alone : Essays

Rating:
Summary: A Celebration of Reading, Writing, and LIfe
Review: A reviewer of one of Jonathan Franzen's earlier novels wrote that Franzen, through his work, reminds us of the importance of serious fiction. I could not agree more. Franzen writes fiction with meaning, with a purpose disturbingly rare among modern day writers. His work culminated with last years critically acclaimed work, "The Corrections." That book told us that he was without a doubt one of the countries best novelists. This compilation of Franzen's essays tells us that he can be an extremely insightful and honest cultural critic.

Not every essay in this collective work is golden, but most are. They vary wildly in their concentrations, from Franzen's disturbingly honest recount of his father's battle with Alzheimer's disease to his life as a young writer in New York. Views on popular culture, tobacco companies, the post office, politics, the rise of cities and the sad death of intellectual life are all presented in Franzen's enjoyable and easily understood style.

The title of the collection stems from the idea that readers and lovers of the written word should celebrate their uniqueness. Far too many people in Imperial America are unhappy and lonely, a sad situation. The reader is forced to cringe when presented with Franzen's collection of apocalyptic facts concerning the battle between books and the mass media (books are nearing their last stand, at least in this era). Franzen has some good tips for the lonely reader, such as throwing out the TV, which, as Franzen convincingly argues, is the root of nearly all evils in our world (too little humor to be comfortable).

Other essays examine Franzen's disgust and love of consumerism and the ignorance it spawns. One slightly whimsical but sad entry concerns the everyday drudgery of a federal penitentiary. Also revealed is Franzen's famous dispute with Oprah, a cultural force so strong the casual Franzen stood no chance.

A joy to read and a book to learn from.

Rating:
Summary: Very disappointing
Review: I found the book extremely disappointing. The essays are neither personal enough to be engaging, nor deep enough to be intellectually stimulating. He talks about his personal life in such a detached and cold voice that even the pieces that had a potential of being extremely moving (like the one about his father) end up lifeless and just plain boring. I kept looking for something clever in the book, but instead the word "pseudo-intellectual" kept coming to my mind, as I could not find any depth to this writing.
Overall, I found the tone of the book to be too whiny and lacking in wit. A waste of my money.

Rating:
Summary: The guy don't miss a thing
Review: I may be one of the only reviewers here who read this book of essays, and has not yet read The Corrections. The novel's on my stack now though, and it's due to a love of the way this guy writes. The essays in How to Be Alone really made me think - and Franzen writes in such a way that you can't imagine any side of the issue that he has left out. My favorite essay is an existential self-commentary about the life of the writer in a world that uses the written word to communicate less and less. He suggests that in the days of the classic novel, writers had a chance to share news and commentary about the richer fibers of life. For much of the population, that need is met through TV now, scary thought as it may be. The essays caused the "Well, I never thought of it *that* way before" reaction for me, and you just can't beat that. The post office essay was also engrossing, and quite the picture of the way people will react when working within a flawed system.

Some of the other reviewers here seemed offended by Franzen and commented that he didn't give enough credit to those of us who are the readers out there. I didn't find that to be the case at all, and got the sense that Franzen, in fact, wrote for the lifelong readers out there, certainly not for the Danielle Steel breed of folks. Geez, he dedicates his life work to us. Kinda ironic that he was one of the writers chosen to join the book club that reintroduced serious reading for so many people. He had the chance to affect change in the problem, and then felt invaded by the opportunity. Oprah said that he was "conflicted" and I suppose this was true. To be conflicted is often the case if you dare to dig deep enough and explore an issue. At the end of How to Be Alone, I really wanted more of Franzen's unique way of looking at the world. Glad to see that I have a big, ole, honkin' novel waiting to provide just that.

Rating:
Summary: I am a sucker for melancholy
Review: If nothing else the title is enough to make this book engaging. In our popularity oriented, herd minded society there is an almost compulsive urge to at least pick up this book.
But this book goes far beyond its title; comprising an incredibly engaging set of essays touching on many different aspects of self, especially in relation to our ever more complex and noisy society, as well as delving into the state of literature today. Often seemingly gilded with melancholy, Franzen's heartfelt seeking of truth and understanding resonates within those who read it. From the story of his father's slow death through Alzheimer's in "My Father's Brain" to the self-discovery brought on by his love of literary culture, and the rediscovering the source of that love in "The Reader in Exile" the reader is reminded of hard lessons learned.
Aloneness has a stigma in our society as something to be feared and avoided. While this book does not seek to celebrate isolationism it does show it as something not to be feared. Reading itself is the very act of indulgent alones and Franzen exposes the beauty there, as well as our own desire for the individuality that comes with aloneness.

Rating:
Summary: Franzen doesn't deserve this much criticism...
Review: Well, I don't fully understand all of the criticism that is thrown Franzen's way. I really engaged with this book and found the essays interesting, well-written and thought-provoking. All-in-all, Franzen's insights into reading culture, writing, memory and American society were right on the money for me. I think those who don't like this book would be more at home with Newsweek and Time magazine and find USA Today sufficient for their daily news.

Criticism of Franzen as "elitist" is over-stated. If you, like I, are one of those "isolates" who starts reading early in life, you will likely find sympathy with Franzen's perspective as I did. I think "elitist" is a word thrown at those who read and think like Franzen by those who don't. I don't believe the book is elitist so much as representative of a different class of readers in American society who are a little more isolated from American consumer culture and generally find the consumer-driven, media-saturated, conformist version of America unsettling to say the least.