Acclaimed (and Controversial) Author Speaks in Houston Tonight

And Oprah’s Probably Not Invited

By James Brock // Sep 21, 2015

Jonathan Franzen has a lot to say about literature and culture.

It seems people either love or hate Jonathan Franzen, the author of, most notably, The Corrections, a big novel that sold more than a million hardcover copies in the U.S. alone. That effort won Franzen the National Book Award — and legions of fans. (And then there’s his dust-up with Oprah, but we’ll not get into that … ) He’s outspoken, he is a passionate birder, and he takes the act of writing very seriously. And he’s appearing in Houston tonight.

Franzen is out with a new book, titled Purity, and he’s in town for an Inprint appearance to speak and read from Purity’s pages. Like The Corrections, it is a novel with grand, sweeping aspirations, and its main character, Pip (Dickens, anyone?), is on a rollicking and at times dangerous journey that takes in espionage, Germany and a troubled mother-daughter relationship, among other things. (At press time, the event was sold out, but you can contact Inprint to inquire about any returned tickets.)

The Inprint Margarett Root Brown Reading Series, a Houston treasure for 35 years, has lined up another outstanding roster of authors for the 2015/2016 season, including Salman Rushdie, Anthony Doerr and Sandra Cisneros, and the events are always lively and informative.

Update: We’ve been told that Inprint’s season tickets are completely sold out, but individual tickets will be available for each event.