Oprah Winfrey forgives author Jonathan Franzen's snub

OPRAH Winfrey has forgiven novelist Jonathan Franzen.

OPRAH Winfrey has forgiven novelist Jonathan Franzen.

Nine years after picking Franzen's The Corrections for her book club and then cancelling his appearance on her show after he expressed ambivalence over her endorsement, Winfrey has chosen his new novel, Freedom.

The talk show host was scheduled to announce her pick overnight, but copies that had her book club sticker on the front were available in bookstores yesterday. Three bookstores had previously said Freedom had been selected.

Winfrey's decision tells a story she loves well, one of redemption, and cites a book that itself redeems a troubled Minnesota-based family.

Released late last month, Freedom was almost canonised by critics before publication and has been a sales hit.

Franzen, 51, was branded a snob for his comments in 2001 about Oprah's book club.

He called some of her picks "schmaltzy" and worried about his place in the "high-end literary tradition".

But, at the same time, he praised Winfrey for making good choices and for "fighting the good fight". He apologised quickly and repeatedly, but Winfrey's mind stayed unchanged, until now.

AP