Jonathan Franzen
“The country as a whole had become so hostile to have-nots that large numbers of have-nots themselves now voted against their own economic interests.” -Jonathan Franzen
Be good to each other,
Nathan
As always, this is not a book report. Rather, it is an opportunity to discuss some ideas that stuck with me while reading “The Discomfort Zone” by Jonathan Franzen.
A Personal History
Looking back on your own life is more than a mere reflection. As you age, it is an opportunity to question major milestones and events. It is a chance to take stock of these experiences both good and bad in an effort to see how they shaped you. As you review, these moments interweave themselves together into the story of you. For those of us who choose creative endeavors, our art is an attempt to make meaning of these moments and share them with the world. They influence everything we write, paint, act, sculpt, sing, and express. By sharing them, we attempt to free ourselves while letting others in to experience our true selves. If we are really good, others will see they are not alone in the joy and moments of tumult in this world. “The Discomfort Zone” by Jonathan Franzen is an attempt to do this. In it, I found an author I could relate to on a personal level; one of my great hopes when consuming art in any form.
Be good to each other,
-Nathan
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"But when does the real story start? At forty-five, I feel grateful almost daily to be the adult I wished I could be when I was seventeen. I work on my arm strength at the gym; I've become pretty good with tools. At the same time, almost daily, I lose battles with the seventeen-year-old who's still inside of me. I eat half a box of Oreos for lunch, I binge watch on TV, I make sweeping moral judgments, I run around in torn jeans, I drink martinis on Tuesday night, I stare at beer-commercial cleavage, I define as uncool any group to which I can't belong, I feel the urge to key Range Rovers and slash their tires; I pretend I'm never going to die." -Jonathan Franzen
"The authentic relationship I wanted now was with the written page." -Jonathan Franzen
"When need-to-know lists were being made up, I was always left off them. It was as if I went through life wearing a sign that said KEEP HIM IN THE DARK." -Jonathan Franzen
"Fellowship was a class I was never going to be the best student in; I was content to pull down B's and C's in honesty and openness." -Jonathan Franzen
"I wanted to be able to write a check, because I want to put Katrina's victims out of my mind and get back to enjoying my life, because, as a New Yorker, I felt I had a right to enjoy my life, because I was living in the number-one terrorist target in the Western Hemisphere, the preferred destination of every lunatic with a portable nuclear device or smallpox dispenser, and because life in New York was liable to go from great to ghastly even faster than it had in New Orleans." -Jonathan Franzen
"This is a great time to be an American CEO, a tough time to be the CEO's lowest paid worker. A great time to be Wal-Mart, a tough time to be in Wal-Mart's way, a great time to be an incumbent extremist, a tough time to be a moderate challenger. Fabulous to be a defense contractor, shitty to be a reservist, excellent to tenure at Princeton, grueling to be an adjunct at Queens College; outstanding to manage a pension fund, lousy to rely on one; better than ever to bestselling, harder than ever to be mid-list; phenomenal to win a Texas Hold 'Em tournament, a drag to be a video-poker addict." -Jonathan Franzen
