Photo: David Shankbone / CC BY 3.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Jonathan Franzen is one of the few contemporary American novelists I trust to take the messiness of family life seriously and never flinch. The Corrections and Freedom earned him a National Book Award, a Pulitzer finalist nod, and a stack of other honors, but the prizes are not why I admire him. It is the unfashionable willingness to write the big, demanding social novel, plus the cranky, bird-loving public persona that comes with it. A Swarthmore intellectual who refuses to look down on his characters' pettiness, he writes people as they actually are. That clear-eyed compassion is rarer than any award shelf suggests.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Jonathan Franzen
- Name (Japanese)
- ジョナサン・フランゼン
- Reading
- じょなさん・ふらんぜん
- Born
- August 17, 1959 (age 66)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Leo / Boar
- Origin
- Western Springs, Illinois, United States
- Occupation
- novelist / writer / essayist / opinion journalist / translator
2. Background
- High school
- Webster Groves High School
- University
- Swarthmore College
Awards & achievements
- honorary degree
- 1996 Guggenheim Fellowship
- 2002 James Tait Black Memorial Prize
- 2001 National Book Award
- Fulbright Scholarship
- 2001 National Book Award for Fiction
4. Personality
Motto
Private
5. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notable work | The Corrections | — | |
| Notable work | Freedom | — |
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Jonathan Franzen born?
Born August 17, 1959 (age 66).
Where is Jonathan Franzen from?
Jonathan Franzen is from Western Springs, Illinois, United States.
What does Jonathan Franzen do?
Jonathan Franzen works as novelist, writer, essayist, opinion journalist, translator.
What is Jonathan Franzen known for?
Notable works include The Corrections, Freedom.
Novelist — see all → · Writer — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.