SOURCE: Grohskopf, Bernice. “Pre-Oprah Franzen.” Virginia Quarterly Review 79, no. 4 (autumn 2003): 768-72.

In the following review of How to Be Alone, Grohskopf examines each essay individually, concluding that the pieces with less of a negative tone and minimal excessive detail are stronger than the others.

How to Be Alone is a collection of Jonathan Franzen's essays commenting on contemporary values, manners, tastes, customs and morals. His assessments are often negative, conveying the impression of a man not only critical of, but rejecting the society in which he lives. As he put it: “Nothing more reliably bolsters my faith in humanity than the dyspepsia of letters to the Times.” His most famous rejection was of the Oprah Book Club seal of approval for his novel The Corrections, and while he later recanted, at the time it brought him instant publicity, boosting the sales of his novel.

These essays, originally published...