Jonathan Franzen: Critics Right To Suspect 'White Male Authors'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Jonathan Franzen, a writer beloved by millions of readers, likes coming to Europe where he doesn't face "the baggage" his public persona carries back in the United States.

Novels such as "The Corrections" and "Freedom" have made him one of the foremost literary authors of his generation in the United States, and his most recent, "Crossroads", is seen by some critics as his greatest achievement yet.

But in his home country, his success has been blighted by a somewhat cranky public image that has seen him painted as the epitome of the privileged white man -- someone even set up the web address "ciswhitemale.com" to go straight to Franzen's Facebook page.

At 63, he is patient with his critics.

"America was created by white men. It's still run by white men to the advantage of white men," he told AFP. "If you're a white male writer, you're automatically under suspicion, you're part of the power structure.

"For younger people, especially in these highly political times, I'm wrong until proven right. Anything I do. And I understand that and I accept that. I'm not bitter about it, because I have had enormous privileges simply by being white and middle class in the US."'