I don’t read much about myself. I learned my lesson after spending ninety ill-advised minutes googling myself once in the fall of 2001. I think the whole “Franzen is a spoiled elitist” thing was wrong, although not without a kernel of truth. I do lead a privileged life. I do believe some books are better than others. I do think that mere popularity does not indicate greatness. In those respects, I suppose I’m an elitist. But I think what was meant by the term “elitist” at the time was the antithesis of what I’ve tried to do as a writer, which is to reach the largest possible audiences and
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