BREAKING: “Freedom Burning” Halted
THURSDAY, NEW YORK—Chris Mohney, online representative for BlackBook Magazine and organizer of this Saturday’s scheduled burning of Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom, announced that a last-minute deal had been struck to halt the demonstration planned to coincide with the ninth anniversary of the second printing of The Corrections.
In a press conference this afternoon Mohney announced that he called off the ceremonial burning after the New York Times agreed to publish a series of glowing reviews of the collected works of Jodi Picoult. “We are, of course, now against any other group burning Freedom,” Mohney said. “We would right now ask no one to burn Freedom. We are absolutely strong on that. It is not the time to do it.”
Details of the deal cannot yet be confirmed as Bill Keller could not be reached for comment at press time, but reactions from 620 8th Avenue ranged from the confused to the apoplectic. “I am glad that Mr. Mohney has decided not to burn Freedom,” Times book reviewer Michiko Kakutani said in a statement. “However, I have not spoken to him and I am surprised by his announcement. We are not going to toy with our Sunday Book Review. Nor are we going to barter. We are here to extend our hands to sell more Franzen.”
