How To Be Alone by Jonathan Franzen

Reviewed by Lynn Schneider

I admit to having a preconceived opinion of Jonathan Franzen, and after reading his collection of Essays, How To Be Alone, I believe that opinion was wrong. I was under the impression that he considered himself one of the elite, an ego-centric, introspective genius-type author with no time for the literary bourgeoisie, but after reading the collection of essays, I feel differently. I loved some of them, and I liked the rest of them, and through them he seemed approachable, with feelings and insecurities like anyone else.

The subject matter varied from the story of his father’s battle with Alzheimer’s, to an interesting discussion of privacy, to the chaos in the Chicago postal system, to an examination of a maximum-security penitentiary in Colorado, to a very humorous take on sex scenes in novels. The demise of literary fiction is the theme that surfaced over and over, that we are becoming a society of over-medicated, over-stimulated technologentsia — too lazy to read literary fiction anymore and inclined to anesthetize our brains with 24-hour news and Hollywood gossip shows.

The main theme, which surfaced more than once, was the decline of the novel, and technology vs. literature. Mr. Franzen says:

For every reader who dies today, a viewer is born, and we seem to be witnessing, here in the anxious mid-nineties, the final tipping of a balance.

The essays were written in the nineties mostly, and a couple of them in 2001, so I can only wonder how his views have changed since these were written. If he was frustrated then, he must be more so by now, as we are more inundated by technology than ever. What does he think about the reality shows of today, the newer and faster way to numb a brain?

These essays are not always easy to read, in that they are not simplistic, but contain the complex sentence structure that he is famous for. There were at least ten words he used that I had to look up. Some paragraphs needed to be reread to be properly understood, and some passages needed to be reread just because they were beautifully crafted, and so needed to be more fully examined.

It’s clear he wants to reinstate serious fiction to where it belongs, and has attempted to do that very thing, by writing engaging novels about dysfunctional families that will charm the masses. He really wishes people would read more, and rely on technology less, that through reading we can learn “how to be alone”.

The essays which are educational, emotional, wry, and funny are sometimes personal for the author, and I appreciated being allowed the experience of learning a bit more about a man whose writing I so admire.

This is my favorite quote from the book, about internet dating. I don’t know why it’s my favorite but it’s a thought I’ve had myself and when I read it, I knew I wanted to remember it:

…the only thing more dismal to imagine than virtual courtship is daily life in the marriage of two people who would court that way.

How to REALLY Get the Last Word

Recently, a blogger I follow posted a link to a YouTube video about a new enterprise—a company that promises to give people a voice beyond the grave. How? By sending post-mortem emails on behalf of the deceased! No longer will we need séances to receive messages from the dearly departed. Now, for a one-time fee of $47 (basic package), anyone can prearrange emails to be delivered to fifty people after one shrugs off this mortal coil.

My first thought probably reveals something about me: “Now I can tell so-and-so exactly what I think about him. And he can’t answer back!” Nyah, nyah, nyah.

Then my cynical side spoke up: “But how am I gonna know if the company actually does what I’ve paid them to do? I won’t be in a position to sue them for breach of contract.”

And lastly suspicions surfaced: “Is this whole thing a joke?”

Take a look at the YouTube posting and tell me what you think. Is this for real?

Words, Don’t Fail Me Now

I love this blog.  The variety of topics, the diversity of the books reviews, and all the different opinions shared here always make me think.  Most of the time I agree with what’s being said, but each author’s unique form of expression adds more depth to the subject and leads to new insights.  Even when I don’t agree with something, I can still recognize the validity of the differing viewpoint.  It’s a good reminder that my opinion is just that—an opinion.  No matter how right I believe it to be, it doesn’t invalidate someone else’s opinion.  And regardless of whether I agree or disagree, a post will often spark my creativity and give me ideas for new topics.

This blog also nurtures my writing.  The discipline of having to write something every month is good for me, even when it’s a struggle to do so.  No, make that especially when it’s a struggle to contribute regularly.  Just coming up with something to write about each month can be a constructive exercise.  Then there’s the problem of sitting down and writing it, of finding exactly the right words and putting them in the right order so others can understand what I’m trying to say.  Although the English language has an abundance of precise and eloquent words, it can be surprisingly difficult to clearly and accurately express yourself.  The only way to get better at doing that is to practice selecting and arranging words.  Unapplied knowledge doesn’t increase your proficiency.  And I do want to become a better writer.  Too often words fail me, such as now when I’m trying to write about concepts and feelings.

But the best thing about this blog is the people who are writing it.  There’s a synchronicity to our coming together as group that is unexplainable.  How did we all manage to arrive at the same place at the same time?  Why did we even stop at this particular place?  What strengthened the initial sense of kinship enough to establish a bond?  It’s like a small miracle when you consider all the choices we could have made throughout our lives that might have prevented us from even meeting.  Yet the different paths we took to get here are key to the success of this blog because it means we all have something of value to contribute, whether it’s a unique perspective, a life experience, or a specific ability.  By banding together as we have, we can create something better than any one of us could do alone.

Even when something serendipitously comes together like this group did and feels so right, none of us knows what the future will bring.  That’s why it’s important to occasionally pause to preserve special moments, to appreciate what we have.  And it seems especially appropriate to use Thanksgiving to mark this particular moment in time and to acknowledge everything we’ve accomplished so far with this blog.  So after assiduously searching both my heart and my vocabulary and applying all of my skills as a writer, I think I’ve finally come up with the words that truly express how I feel. 

“We done good.”