Dumber than he writes

The literary world has enjoyed the whole Franzen-Oprah spat from
the sidelines. Nothing so fun since Wolfe and Updike traded barbs.
Really, Franzen comes off looking like an ass. Yeah, it's true,
Oprah has selected some real stinkers. Franzen's mistake is thinking
that he owns his brand and can declare himself part of the literary
elite. Most of the influence he can exert on his place in literary
history was done when he penned the last sentence of the book
and sent it off to the printers. His destiny is for the readers and
the critics and the world at large to decide.
He is a good writer. But about PR and branding he's a rookie.