'His discreetly devastating comic timing derives from the tension between the optimism of his ambition and the reality of the attempts to deal with the experiences that have marked his career as one America's best novelist and essayist.' Times
'Franzen's memoir is cleverly written and often fun to read...He's funny and self deprecating...' Sunday Telegraph
'Wonderful and supremely personal...' Time Magazine
'Reading such honest, awkward, tender pieces as these, the socially isolated individual may feel that little bit less lonely.' New Statesman.
'The close of this book is almost miraculous; we are reminded that Franzen, at his best, can write like a dream.' FT Magazine
Jonathan Franzen's work includes four novels (The Twenty-Seventh City, Strong Motion, The Corrections, Freedom), two collections of essays (Farther Away, How To Be Alone), a memoir (The Discomfort Zone), and, most recently, The Kraus Project. He is recognised as one of the best American writers of our age and has won many awards. He lives in New York City and Santa Cruz, California.