The End of the End of the Earth

(Paperback)

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A sharp and provocative new essay collection from the award-winning author of Freedom and The Corrections
In The End of the End of the Earth, which gathers essays and speeches written mostly in the past five years, Jonathan Franzen returns with renewed vigour to the themes both human and literary that have long preoccupied him. Whether exploring his complex relationship with his uncle, recounting his young adulthood in New York, or offering an illuminating look at the global seabird crisis, these pieces contain all the wit and disabused realism that weve come to expect from Franzen.

Taken together, these essays trace the progress of a unique and mature mind wrestling with itself, with literature and with some of the most important issues of our day, made more pressing by the current political milieu. The End of the End of the Earth is remarkable, provocative and necessary.

Reviews

Praise for The End of the End of the Earth:

by refusing to hope for the impossible, Franzen, improbably, manages to produce a volume that feels, if not hopeful, then at least not hopeless. Theres nothing he can do theres probably nothing any of us can do to avert or even alleviate the coming catastrophe. But for now, hes here and hes alive, and over the course of these essays he offers us a series of partial, tentative answers to the question he poses himself at the beginning: How do we find meaning in our actions when the world seems to be coming to an end Guardian

Can be read, in part, as a welcome alternative to the current, dominant American political tone of one-note belligerence Observer

Franzen shows himself to be the kind of unacademic critic who recognises and does not disapprove of the Common Readers natural tendency to feel for the characters the author has brought into being Scotsman

Praise for Jonathan Franzen:

A literary genius for our time Guardian

Arguably Americas greatest living novelist Daily Telegraph

Franzen is that rare bird: a literary novelist of the highest distinction who has also become one of the bestsellers of the age Evening Standard

Franzens words crackle with wit humour and wisdom Shortlist

Author Bio

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.