Considered one of the finest contemporary American authors, Jonathan Franzen has mined his Midwestern background and deep understanding of familial drama to write several multi-generational epic novels. The Corrections won the National Book Award, among other honors, while Freedom was named a notable fiction selection of 2010 by the American Library Association. His fifth novel, Purity, follows the journey of a recent college graduate as she struggles to find her place in a broader social and global context.