Acclaimed author Jonathan Franzen wanted to adopt an Iraqi orphan to learn why young people are so angry

In an attempt to better understand younger people, novelist Jonathan Franzen told The Guardian he considered adopting an Iraqi war orphan.

Franzen, who wrote bestselling novels The Corrections and Freedom, felt that younger generations lacked passion-driven emotions and ideologies. According to The Guardian, the author considered adopting the Iraqi orphan for over a month before his editor persuaded him not to.

"One of the things that had put me in the mind of adoption was a sense of alienation from the younger generations," Franzen told The Guardian."They seemed politically not the way they should be as young people. I thought people were supposed to be idealistic and angry. And they seemed kind of cynical and not very angry."

Franzen's controversial remarks quickly became a trending topic on twitter-which he regarded as the "ultimate irresponsible medium" while speaking at Tulane University in 2012.

According to The Guardian, Franzen's editor Henry Finder convinced him to visit a group of college grads instead, which ultimately "cured" Franzen of his "anger at young people."

Franzen's latest novel, Purity, is set to publish on September 1 of this year.

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