Philip Weinstein is the Alexander Griswold Cummins professor emeritus of English literature at Swarthmore College and the author of eight books. Usually he can be found in the company of authors long dead, whom he brings to life at weekly lectures at the Katharine Cornell Theatre. This fall he is leading a series on Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy and The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Last year it was War and Peace, and the year before it was three books by William Faulkner.

But on Tuesday, Nov. 10, Mr. Weinstein is tackling an author who is very much alive and at the top of his game when he discusses his new book Jonathan Franzen: The Comedy of Rage beginning at 7 p.m. at the Vineyard Haven Public Library.

Drawing on unpublished emails and both published and private interviews, Mr. Weinstein deconstructs the man who fuels adoration and rage in nearly equal quantities.

Mr. Franzen published his novel The Corrections to critical and popular acclaim in 2001. But he also created a tsunami of negative backlash when he mocked his inclusion in Oprah Winfrey’s book club selection, feeling that this nod to the populace could lessen his book’s literary reputation. The man is nothing if not opinionated.

Since then Mr. Franzen has published two more bestelling novels — Freedom in 2010 and the recently published Purity — and the essay collections How to Be Alone, The Discomfort Zone and Farther Away.

He is cultural touchstone and on Tuesday, thanks to Mr. Weinstein you can find out what makes him tick. And then make sure you stick around the library for another day, when Mr. Weinstein reveals the inner workings of Dostoevsky.