The Freedom by Jonathan Franzen was, by far, the most discussed novel of 2010, an ambitious and exploratory look at American life in the twenty-first century. In the New York Times Review, Sam Tanenhaus described it as a masterpiece of American prose and praised the way through the steady radiance of the author's deep moral genius, he [illuminated] the world we thought we knew.

In Farther Away, a collection of essays and speeches mostly written in the last five years, Franzen returns with renewed zeal to the human and literary themes that have long occupied him. Whether recounting his violent encounter with wild bird poachers in Cyprus or examining his mixed feelings about the suicide of David Foster Wallace, a friend and competitor, or offering a poignant and insightful perspective on how technology has changed the way people express their love, these texts uphold Franzen's unspoken promise not to hide anything.

On a trip to China, in order to witness the environmental destruction there firsthand, he emphasizes his excitement and awe at the pace of China's economic growth; the journey becomes an adventure beyond his own biases and moral condemnation. Taken together, these essays chart the evolutionary trajectory of a unique and mature mind grappling with itself, literature, and some of the most important issues of our time. Farther Away is significant, provocative, and essential.

[Excerpt from the text on the back cover of the edition]