Wow! A Jonathan Franzen Smackdown
A Commonplace Blog assaults Jonathan Franzen with his least favorite epithet.
He who would aspire to being the new William Gaddis, indeed, he whose The Connections was supposed to make us think about The Recognitions, who recoiled from Oprah for her "middle-brow" choices is here roundly smacked down.
Personally, I have neither time nor interest in the question of high, low, or middle; however, I find this usage at least amusing, precisely because it pierces the arrogance that can be Mr. Franzen at the most vulnerable point. Of course, he isn't paying attention--no writer can afford to track that closely.
He who would aspire to being the new William Gaddis, indeed, he whose The Connections was supposed to make us think about The Recognitions, who recoiled from Oprah for her "middle-brow" choices is here roundly smacked down.
Personally, I have neither time nor interest in the question of high, low, or middle; however, I find this usage at least amusing, precisely because it pierces the arrogance that can be Mr. Franzen at the most vulnerable point. Of course, he isn't paying attention--no writer can afford to track that closely.
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