Franzen considered adopting an Iraqi orphan

Best-selling author Jonathan Franzen is raising eyebrows over comments he made in an interview with The Guardian.

The author, who is no stranger to controversy after many public feuds with female authors, told the newspaper that he once considered adopting an Iraqi war orphan so he could understand young people better:

“Oh, it was insane, the idea that Kathy (his partner) and I were going to adopt an Iraqi war orphan. The whole idea las ted maybe six weeks,” Franzen explained. “One of the things that had put me in mind of adoption was a sense of alienation from the younger generation. They seemed politically not the way they should be as young people. I thought people were supposed to be idealistic and angry. And they seemed kind of cynical and not very angry. At least not in any way that was accessible to me.”

Franzen did not end up adopting -- his New Yorker editor Henry Finder convinced him not to. Instead he introduced Franzen to some university graduates. “It cured me of my anger at young people,” Franzen said.

The author also talked about the assertion of many of his critics that he is sexist:

“I’m not a sexist. I am not somebody who goes around saying men are superior, or that male writers are superior. In fact, I really go out of my way to champion women’s work that I think is not getting enough attention. None of that is ever enough. Because a villain is needed. It’s like there’s no way to make myself not male.”

He addressed the 2001 incident when Oprah Winfrey disinvited him from her show after he criticized the  “schmaltzy, one-dimensional novels” in her book club.

“What is the one thing a competition winner has to do? They have to show abject gratitude. And I was, like, well, I don’t think you’d be doing this if it weren’t good for you, too. So let’s work together. And the answer was no. So I blame her, too. I think the fact that I was a white guy made that harder. And I think she was sensitive to any suggestion that I might be dissing her. And, of course, then I did diss her. But not before I’d had that experience.”

Franzen also suggested that is literally nothing he can do to satisfy his female critics:

“There is really nothing I can do except die – or, I suppose, retire and never write again.”