Julia_98 reviewed What If We Stopped Pretending? by Jonathan Franzen
The Honesty We Avoid: My Reaction to What If We Stopped Pretending?
4 stars
Reading Franzen’s What If We Stopped Pretending? felt like someone turning on the lights in a room we’ve all agreed to keep dim. In this short but provocative essay, Jonathan Franzen argues that climate catastrophe is no longer a possibility—it’s a reality. Not a future threat, but a present collapse already in motion.
At first, I resisted. I wanted to disagree, to cling to hope. But as I read, I recognized the strange relief in what he was doing: saying the quiet part out loud. Franzen doesn’t call for despair, but for realism. He suggests that instead of imagining we’ll "fix" climate change, we should focus on preserving what we can—local communities, democracy, decency.
His tone is sharp but not cynical. He writes not to scare, but to reframe. That made me uncomfortable, then thoughtful, then oddly calm. I didn’t feel inspired exactly—but I felt grounded.
This essay doesn’t offer …
Reading Franzen’s What If We Stopped Pretending? felt like someone turning on the lights in a room we’ve all agreed to keep dim. In this short but provocative essay, Jonathan Franzen argues that climate catastrophe is no longer a possibility—it’s a reality. Not a future threat, but a present collapse already in motion.
At first, I resisted. I wanted to disagree, to cling to hope. But as I read, I recognized the strange relief in what he was doing: saying the quiet part out loud. Franzen doesn’t call for despair, but for realism. He suggests that instead of imagining we’ll "fix" climate change, we should focus on preserving what we can—local communities, democracy, decency.
His tone is sharp but not cynical. He writes not to scare, but to reframe. That made me uncomfortable, then thoughtful, then oddly calm. I didn’t feel inspired exactly—but I felt grounded.
This essay doesn’t offer solutions. It offers clarity. And that, I think, is its power. Franzen isn’t asking us to give up; he’s asking us to grow up.
When I finished, I sat with it for a while. I’m still sitting with it. Because sometimes, the first step toward real action is finally telling the truth.
