Pity no one reads novels anymore or this might mean something. I think the last time a novelist's endorsement had any broad impact was during the 1950s, when Hemingway did an ad testifying: "I would rather have a bottle of Ballantine Ale than any other drink after fighting a really big fish."
(BTW, John Kerry better keep his eye on his spouse if Jonathan Franzen's in the room, considering the latter's admission that he finds Teresa "hot hot hot.")
Carl