Prophecy of Franzen

by Zoe Pollock

Ross is a little freaked out by the ability of Franzen's novels to tap into the zeitgeist, and maybe even predict it a little. First with The Corrections which addressed the excess of the 1990s and was followed by September 11th, and now, with Freedom:

One thread in the narrative tapestry involves the Iraq War (there are neoconservatives, defense contractors, etc.), and so of course "Freedom" just happened to be published on the day that Barack Obama announced the end of...