Episode · The Book Review · 2026-09-11
Books mentioned on The Best Books of the 21st Century: Taffy Brodesser-Akner on ‘The Corrections’
If you were a reading adult in the early 2000s, you probably tackled, or at least heard about, “The Corrections,” Jonathan Franzen’s best-selling and much discussed book. The novel won the National Book Award, was a Pulitzer finalist, and an Oprah Book Club pick.
Books mentioned, in the order they came up
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The Corrections
Discussed“You said that your most recent novel, Long Island Compromise, was very influenced by the corrections. How so?”
Where to get it
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American Pastoral
Discussed“Right before this I had read American Pastoral. Before that I was reading classics because I had gone to a yeshiva where I felt that we were not like prepared to go out into the world literature-wise.”
Where to get it
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Long Island Compromise
Discussed“You said that your most recent novel, Long Island Compromise, was very influenced by the corrections. How so?”
Where to get it
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Better Living Through Criticism
Better Living Through Criticism by A.
Recommended“And I think very often of our friend and colleague Ao Scott um if you've never read his book better living through criticism um I keep like 20 of them around and I give them to people. Um, and the way it starts is saying that all art is trying to photocopy and recreate the Garden of Eden.”
Where to get it
Other mentions in this episode (6) — ad reads, self-promotion and passing references, never counted
Passing Fleishman Is in Trouble
“She is also the author of two novels herself, Flechman is in trouble and Long Island Compromise, the latter of which was deeply influenced by The Corrections.”
Passing Long Island Compromise
“She is also the author of two novels herself, Flechman is in trouble and Long Island Compromise, the latter of which was deeply influenced by The Corrections.”
Passing The Corrections
“She is also the author of two novels herself, Flechman is in trouble and Long Island Compromise, the latter of which was deeply influenced by The Corrections.”
Passing Middlemarch
“every time I read this book and I told your producer I didn't know how many times because to tell you how many times and to tell you I still haven't read Middle March is to my great 20 this was this was the 20th”
Passing Bleak House
“I love bleak house. Um, it was so depressing. So depressing.”
Passing Freedom
“they eventually ended up making up nine years later when she picked uh freedom. Freedom didn't stick. So, it was all fine.”