Jonathan Franzen
A novelist who captures the sprawling, fractious soul of the American family with Dickensian ambition and biting social observation.
Born 1959 (age 67)·American writer·Birthday: August 17·Baby Boomers
Biography
Jonathan Franzen's novel 'The Corrections' dissected a Midwestern family unraveling at the turn of the millennium with symphonic, pitiless comedy. After two quieter novels, that book detonated onto the literary scene. He feuded publicly with Oprah Winfrey over her book club selection, reinforcing his image as a defender of high-art fiction. He followed with 'Freedom,' an epic tracing the political and sexual entanglements of a liberal Minnesota clan, which landed him on the cover of Time magazine. An avid birdwatcher and essayist, Franzen channels anxieties about technology, environmental decay, and social fragmentation into meticulously observed narratives. He is a traditional storyteller wrestling with untraditional times.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Jonathan was born in 1959, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Jonathan Was Born
The biggest hits of 1959
#1 Movie
Ben-Hur
Best Picture
Ben-Hur
#1 TV Show
Gunsmoke
Jonathan's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1959Born
Fidel Castro takes power in Cuba
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $12,400Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"The Battle of New Orleans" — Johnny HortonBest Picture: Ben-Hur
1964Started school
Civil Rights Act signed; Beatles arrive in America
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $13,450Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"I Want to Hold Your Hand" — The BeatlesBest Picture: My Fair Lady
1972Became a teenager
Watergate break-in; last Apollo Moon mission
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $19,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" — Roberta FlackBest Picture: The Godfather
1975Could drive
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1977Could vote
Star Wars premieres; Elvis dies
Gas: $0.62/galHome: $31,800Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Tonight's the Night" — Rod StewartBest Picture: Annie Hall
1980Turned 21
John Lennon shot and killed in New York
Gas: $1.19/galHome: $47,200Min wage: $3.10/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Call Me" — BlondieBest Picture: Ordinary People
1989Turned 30
Berlin Wall falls; Tiananmen Square protests
Gas: $1.00/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Look Away" — ChicagoBest Picture: Driving Miss Daisy
1999Turned 40
Columbine shooting; Y2K panic builds
Gas: $1.17/galHome: $113,900Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Believe" — CherBest Picture: American Beauty
2009Turned 50
Michael Jackson dies; Bitcoin created
Gas: $2.35/galHome: $148,500Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Boom Boom Pow" — The Black Eyed PeasBest Picture: The Hurt Locker
2019Turned 60
First image of a black hole; Hong Kong protests
Gas: $2.60/galHome: $224,400Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Old Town Road" — Lil Nas XBest Picture: Parasite
2026Age 67 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Won the National Book Award for Fiction for his novel 'The Corrections' in 2001.
- His novel 'Freedom' (2010) was a critical and commercial smash, leading to a celebrated cover story in Time magazine.
- Awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for 'The Corrections.'
- Published a widely-read and controversial essay, 'Perchance to Dream,' in Harper's Magazine, lamenting the state of the social novel.
Did You Know?
He is a dedicated birdwatcher and has written extensively about birds and conservation for The New Yorker.
Franzen famously turned down an invitation to the White House after the publication of 'The Corrections,' citing a prior commitment to go birdwatching.
He translated and edited the English-language edition of Austrian writer Karl Kraus's essays, 'The Kraus Project.'
“The so-called consumer economy and the politics that goes with it have depended, for as long as they've been around, on a simple but amazing trick: convincing people that the things they buy are expressions of their unique individuality.”
