Keen eye for dirty linen

So loud were the tom toms, any reviewer could not but have taken on board the chorus of approval: Franzen had written a masterpiece; a fitting sequel to his last masterpiece, The Corrections; the greatest novel of the century.

This 10-year-old century has given his American readership something to think about: Islamist terrorism on the mainland and consequent US terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan; environmental disaster and exploitation; and the information revolution that goes straight to the core of personal freedoms. It has also given Franzen the template to “find ways to connect the largest possible social picture with the most intimate personal, difficult-to-express human stories”.