Acclaimed writer Jonathan Franzen to speak in Santa Rosa

Tickets went on sale July 28 for a book talk and reading on Sept. 2 in Santa Rosa by Jonathan Franzen, author of several critically acclaimed best sellers who is regarded as one of the most important writers on the contemporary scene.

The 56-year-old author's long anticipated new novel, 'Purity,' has been described as a 'magnum opus for our morally complex times,' a 'dark-hued comedy of youthful idealism, extreme fidelity, and murder.'

It will be published Sept. 1, just one day before Franzen's appearance at Santa Rosa High School in conversation with literary critic Jane Ciabatarri, a part-time Sonoma County resident and member and former president of The National Book Critics Circle.

Franzen, who splits his time between New York and Santa Cruz, is the author of four other novels and five works of non-fiction. He won The National Book Award in 2001 for 'Corrections,' was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and is a contributor to 'The New Yorker.'

Cost is $10 with the purchase of the book, which retails for $28. Tickets can be purchased at any Copperfields Books or online at copperfieldsbooks.com.

The talk is at 7 p.m. in the auditorium of Santa Rosa High School, 1235 Mendocino Ave.

You can reach Staff Writer Meg McConahey at meg.mcconahey@pressdemocrat.com or 521-5204. On Twitter @megmcconahey.