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Crossroads: A Novel Hardcover – October 5, 2021
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Jonathan Franzen’s gift for wedding depth and vividness of character with breadth of social vision has never been more dazzlingly evident than in Crossroads.
It’s December 23, 1971, and heavy weather is forecast for Chicago. Russ Hildebrandt, the associate pastor of a liberal suburban church, is on the brink of breaking free of a marriage he finds joyless―unless his wife, Marion, who has her own secret life, beats him to it. Their eldest child, Clem, is coming home from college on fire with moral absolutism, having taken an action that will shatter his father. Clem’s sister, Becky, long the social queen of her high-school class, has sharply veered into the counterculture, while their brilliant younger brother Perry, who’s been selling drugs to seventh graders, has resolved to be a better person. Each of the Hildebrandts seeks a freedom that each of the others threatens to complicate.
Jonathan Franzen’s novels are celebrated for their unforgettably vivid characters and for their keen-eyed take on contemporary America. Now, in Crossroads, Franzen ventures back into the past and explores the history of two generations. With characteristic humor and complexity, and with even greater warmth, he conjures a world that resonates powerfully with our own.
A tour de force of interwoven perspectives and sustained suspense, its action largely unfolding on a single winter day, Crossroads is the story of a Midwestern family at a pivotal moment of moral crisis. Jonathan Franzen’s gift for melding the small picture and the big picture has never been more dazzlingly evident.
- Print length592 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherFarrar, Straus and Giroux
- Publication dateOctober 5, 2021
- Dimensions6.17 x 1.72 x 8.65 inches
- ISBN-100374181179
- ISBN-13978-0374181178
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Editorial Reviews
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INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
Named a Best Book of the Year by Air Mail, Barack Obama, Bookforum, BookPage, Electric Lit, Financial Times, The Guardian (UK), Good Housekeeping, The Independent (UK), Kirkus Reviews, Lit Hub, Oprah Daily, The Millions, New Statesman, Newsweek, NPR, Publishers Weekly, Slate, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, The Telegraph, TIME, Town and Country, USA Today, Vogue, Vulture, The Washington Post, and more
"A mellow, marzipan-hued ’70s-era heartbreaker. Crossroads is warmer than anything [Franzen has] yet written, wider in its human sympathies, weightier of image and intellect . . . Franzen patiently clears space for the slow rise and fall of character, for the chiming of his themes and for a freight of events . . . [but] the character who cracks this novel fully open―she’s one of the glorious characters in recent American fiction―is Marion . . . The action in Crossroads flows and ebbs toward several tour-de-force scenes." ―Dwight Garner, The New York Times Book Review
"Thank God for Jonathan Franzen . . . With its dazzling style and tireless attention to the machinations of a single family, Crossroads is distinctly Franzen-esque, but it represents a marked evolution . . . It’s an electrifying examination of the irreducible complexities of an ethical life. With his ever-parsing style and his relentless calculation of the fractals of consciousness, Franzen makes a good claim to being the 21st century’s Nathaniel Hawthorne." ―Ron Charles, The Washington Post
"Superb . . . As with the best of Franzen’s fiction, the characters in Crossroads are held up to the light like complexly cut gems and turned to reveal facet after facet . . . Franzen has created characters of almost uncanny authenticity. Is there anything more a great novelist ought to do?" ―Laura Miller, Slate
"The Corrections was a masterpiece, but Crossroads is [Franzen's] finest novel yet . . . He has arrived at last as an artist whose first language, faced with the society of greed, is not ideological but emotional, and whose emotions, fused with his characters, tend more toward sorrow and compassion than rage and self-contempt...” ―Frank Guan, Bookforum
"A work of total, tantalizing genius. Entombed with big ideas and eccentric characters, Crossroads is a brilliant, excessive, and absorbing novel that instantly feels like Franzen’s finest." ―Brady Brickner-Wood, The Chicago Review of Books
"Like a latter-day George Eliot, Franzen can light up large thematic skies but also keep his eye on the sparrow." ―Thomas Mallon, The New York Times Book Review
“Franzen is a master of rendering the broad sweep of humanity through the (extremely human) minutia of a family. In Crossroads, I felt a frustration and fondness for the Hildebrandts so deep it was almost familial. This is, perhaps, [Franzen’s] greatest skill as a writer . . . What more could a reader ask for, really?” ―Jessie Gaynor, Lit Hub
"[A] pleasure bomb of a novel . . . New prospects are what keep [Crossroads] so engrossing, each section expanding on and deepening the poignancy of what has come before . . . . Few [writers] can take human contradiction and make it half as entertaining and intimate as Franzen does . . . A magnificent portrait of an American family on the brink of implosion . . . Crossroads is Act I of what’s bound to be an American classic." ―Lauren Mechling, Vogue
"Soulful, funny and so sharply observed it hurts . . . Crossroads gets this wildly ambitious [trilogy] off to a glorious start.” ―Michael Upchurch, The Seattle Times
"[A] sweeping, sumptuous new novel . . . [Franzen] pays homage to great nineteenth century social realists, from George Eliot to Balzac to Dickens, while gazing unflinchingly to the ills that shape us today . . . Crossroads is consumed with the cause and effect of our choices, especially our selfish ones. The novel closes on a cliffhanger, teeing up for the next two installments of his trilogy, a triumphant opening gambit in what may become a vital pillar of our literature." ―Hamilton Cain, Oprah Daily
"[Crossroads] is carefully wrought, its neatly balanced architecture another clandestine source of its power." ―Kathryn Schulz, The New Yorker
“Crossroads is expansive and funny; a pure pleasure to read.” ―Xan Brooks, The Guardian
“Franzen brings to this novel a refreshing simplicity . . . What remains is family drama as high art. What remains is Franzen’s gift for interiority, his uncanny ability to take us into minds as fraught and depraved as our own.” ―Erin Somers, The A.V. Club
"A marvelous novel." ―Becca Rothfeld, The Atlantic
"Absolutely engrossing . . . There’s not a scenario in [Crossroads] that doesn’t ring true." ―Allison Arieff, San Francisco Chronicle
"Superbly rendered . . . [Crossroads is] a supremely skillful book, ingenious and practiced in its execution, on point in its small, historical details . . . ” ―Walter Kirn, Air Mail
"Franzen’s best novel." ―Sasha Frere-Jones, 4Columns
"[A] superb domestic epic . . . Franzen’s faith in fiction as a means to get at questions of goodness and righteousness is unshakable." ―Mark Athitakis, USA Today (Four out of Four Stars)
"This is peak Franzen, with richly created characters, conflicts and plot . . . The writing is a marvel." ―Rob Merrill, Associated Press
"Excellent . . . With Marion, [Franzen] reminds us that he’s actually one of our great novelists of female fury . . . Jonathan Franzen really is one of the great novelists of his generation. Crossroads stands ready and willing to prove it." ―Constance Grady, Vox
"[Franzen] imbues his books with big ideas, in this case about responsibility to family, self, God, country, and one’s fellow man, among other matters, all the while digging deep into his characters’ emotions, experiences, desires, and doubts in a way that will please readers seeking to connect to books heart-first . . . Franzen’s intensely absorbing novel is amusing, excruciating, and at times unexpectedly uplifting―in a word, exquisite.”―Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Franzen returns with a sweeping and masterly examination of the shifting culture of early 1970s America, the first in a trilogy . . . Throughout, Franzen exhibits his remarkable ability to build suspense through fraught interpersonal dynamics. It’s irresistible." ―Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"[A] masterful, Tolstoian saga . . . Franzen adroitly portrays eternal generational conflicts . . . This masterpiece of social realism vividly captures each character’s internal conflicts as a response to and a reflection of societal expectations, while Franzen expertly explores the fissions of domestic life, mining the rich mineral beneath the sediments of familial discord. In this first volume of a promised trilogy, Franzen is in rarified peak form." ―Booklist (starred review)
“Franzen pens complex, densely layered characters . . . with America’s heartland functioning as a stage upon which the tension between enduring values and societal change is enacted . . . Franzen is keenly aware that human struggle is defined by understanding and acceptance and that it is generational, ideas he admirably captures here.” ―Library Journal (starred review)
“[Franzen] does not disappoint . . . [He writes] with penetrating insight delivered through incisive sentences . . . I can’t wait to read what happens next.” ―BookPage (starred review)
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Farrar, Straus and Giroux
- Publication date : October 5, 2021
- Edition : First Edition
- Language : English
- Print length : 592 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0374181179
- ISBN-13 : 978-0374181178
- Item Weight : 1.5 pounds
- Dimensions : 6.17 x 1.72 x 8.65 inches
- Book 1 of 1 : A Key to All Mythologies
- Best Sellers Rank: #152,962 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #284 in Family Life Fiction (Books)
- #729 in Literary Fiction (Books)
- #2,067 in American Literature (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Jonathan Franzen is the author of five novels--Purity, Freedom, The Corrections, The Twenty-Seventh City, and Strong Motion--and five works of nonfiction and translation, including Farther Away, How to Be Alone, and The Discomfort Zone, all published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the German Akademie der Kunste, and the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.
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Customers find the book's writing compelling and praise its style, with one review noting how it perfectly captures the turbulent 1970s American suburban sphere. Moreover, they appreciate its readability and empathetic portrayal of characters, with one review highlighting its deep dive into characters' past histories. However, the story quality and character development receive mixed reactions - while some find the themes illuminating and the characters well-defined, others find the plot complicated and the characters not compelling. Additionally, the book receives criticism for being too long and for its heavy religious content.
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Customers praise the writing quality of the book, finding it compelling and very readable, with one customer specifically noting Franzen's amazing prose.
"Well written and engrossing. Some of the plot resolutions were disappointing but the road there was great. Highlly recommended read" Read more
"I enjoyed reading Jonathan Franzen's Crossroads. The book is well written and very readable...." Read more
"...been 5 stars except for the lame ending — it’s as if the author just got tired of writing and simply put down his pen...." Read more
"...His writing is so good; rich in content, intellect and passion that it forces anyone that wants to comment to up their game...." Read more
Customers praise the writing style of the book, describing it as a superlative and intimate portrait, with one customer noting how it perfectly captures the turbulent 1970s American suburban sphere.
"...Rick Ambrose is the young, attractive, and hip new head counselor at Crossroads...." Read more
"...astute and skilful Jonathan Franzen, perfectly captures the turbulent 1970s American suburban sphere...." Read more
"...for their unforgettably vivid characters and for their keen-eyed take on contemporary America...." Read more
"...The narrative itself may be Franzen’s finest in creating realistic and sympathetic characters...." Read more
Customers appreciate the book's empathetic approach, noting its insight into human nature and full range of emotions, with one customer describing it as a psychological treatise.
"...religion (Christianity) through a laid back (not extremist) and compassionate lens...." Read more
"...depicting the changing relationship dynamics, and portraying the societal norms of the era...." Read more
"...I can't imagine someone of his enormous talent, empathy, capacity for outrage, and ability to elucidate it, as well as the ability to observe the..." Read more
"...This is the book for you if you like depictions of: self-hatred, jealousy, delusion, depression, screaming arguments, severe substance abuse,..." Read more
Customers have mixed opinions about the character development in the book, with some finding them well-defined and appreciating the deep dive into their past histories, while others find them not as compelling.
"Griping character study of a family in quiet chaos" Read more
"...of character portrayal early on I found Franzen’s best-portrayed character of the novel, who came across as quick and as graceful as he was gone, a..." Read more
"Jonathan Franzen is a gifted writer but this story had very few likeable characters and it provided a very confusing debate on religion and faith...." Read more
"...That is what allows him to explore his cast so thoroughly, and the deviances so particularly...." Read more
Customers find the book's complexity negative, with multiple reviews criticizing its heavy reliance on clichés and repetitive religious content.
"...First, having this novel set in 1971 seems rather unimportant...." Read more
"...The first half I was disappointed in how basic it seemed, no real complex layers of meaning...." Read more
"...These are key archetypes and themes, and also convoluted and Shakespearean with a (tragi-) comedy of errors...." Read more
"...It’s not bad, but there fewer impressive moments, just more Franzenisms...." Read more
Customers find the book too long.
"It is long, long, long and repetitive.alit would have been better 200 pages shorter...." Read more
"...Then it turned into a preachy annoying Christian disaster. Too long. Too boring SAVE YOURSELF." Read more
"...Mr. Franzen is best with these big canvases that involve us with the various characters in a dysfunctional family, and we have that here...." Read more
"...The book is well written and very readable. The book is very long, but that wasn't an issue due to the quality of the author's writing...." Read more
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Dysfunctional family book created by Franzen? Yes please.
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2023Format: HardcoverVerified PurchaseFRANZEN’S INDULGENCE
Is, finally, our indulgence in a book called Crossroads, following backstory and run-up to the Hildebrandt family’s major catastrophes in present day, 1971.
Crossroads is a novel written in two sections. In ‘Advent’, section first, the workings of Russ Hildebrandt’s passion and obsession with Frances Cottrell, a young woman under his ministry, a widow whom Russ wants. So badly does he want her, he ignores many of the signs of his children falling apart in their own distinct ways, with exception of their youngest, Jordan, an intelligent person we seem to watch the novel through out of the corner of our eye to see he isn’t somehow getting it as badly as his siblings. His siblings all retain many of their parental dirty laundry through, it seems, genes. Perry Hildebrant, a sixteen year old in the throws of experimentation with mind-altering substances can’t seem to keep his head out of ambition to make money cornering a specific drug market in a small Chicago suburb. God, for Perry remains an intellectual game as much as his interactions with peers and the youth group Crossroads, where he finds mediocre highs manipulating the group at first, to varying degrees of success, some undone by his social and ‘beautiful’ sister, Becky; eventually using the group’s yearly outing to the southwest to facilitate his highest ambition: to corner the peyote market in his small town. He is heavily addicted to cocaine at the point of his narrative departure. In Becky, a need to win the heart of a young man in the Crossroads group leads to her first horrific experience on pot bringing her to her knees before Christ on His crucifix, seeing God, and honing in on Tanner’s heart by sticking with him through his initial, promising music career. Clem, the eldest of the bunch, cooly rejects his first love after becoming overwhelmed by her, fearing she’ll trash his grades through her neediness, then giving her and school up to eventually give up the idea of her (spawned by his mother) a second time, and resuming his life in Texas working at a Kentucky Fried Chicken. Before Marion and Russ meet in Flagstaff and are married, Marion’s early obsession with a married man surfaces an uncanny likeness to her daughter’s dogged pursuit of Tanner (Marion’s obsession with over-eating sugar cookies is also Becky’s obsession); Marion’s addictive and restrictive personality sheds a husk and becomes the more brilliant in Perry’s drug-addled energy, near frenzy, to seek adjustments chemical and spiritual; Clem’s coldness and eventual abandoning of his family, near one-to-one Marion’s forestalled return to the married man she fell in love with in a prior life, whose rejection led her to a psychiatric ward, to her lowest, basest version of ‘evil’, and in a way kept her from ever finding solace in Russ, a man with whom she raised a large family and maintained the rôle of minister’s wife for thirty years. So, what comes of this close character study of Marion, whom we know has been harmed, will harm, and seeks to resolve her issues from the past in her near-future? Is Marion our main character? Is Marion our cool-handed protagonist as the book jacket says?
In Russ Hildebrandt, we know a young man who once had the courage to travel alone at night through a rocky reservation land, who took warning after warning from an elder not to go, and found out what he really wished to find: a spiritual awakening through a prolonged and intense experience with the Navajo, a people at once accepting, confusing, and ‘plangent’. In his soul-seeking and attempt to make himself known unto God, a reluctance to heed warning, he very nearly dies of dehydration, but comes to epiphany in a sexual revelation within a small dwelling he will return to thirty years later in its battered, undone, and unusable form. Get the picture? Very soon after his epiphany he meets, in Flagstaff, a young Marion fresh from her travails in a psyche ward, newly divorced (though she won’t tell him this until they’ve consummated their aggressive passion) and soon as stickily in love as we have known her to be in obsession. In their eventual marriage we learn of a dire shift in Russ, almost upon marriage, he loses the joy he knew after finding himself with the Navajo, joy in Marion. He and she are now trapped in a joyless marriage having child after child, not knowing the way ahead but that their God will guide them.
Interestingly, it is God who seems to lead them to their least complicated selves. I hadn’t expected this from the first half of the novel, but in our embrace of Franzen’s close-third, his adeptness at keeping a character’s voice ‘on’ while narrating their shifts and reversals, we see a very clear distinction, a clarity, in how each character chooses to use God as their propulsion-pack through the murk and drear of suburban Chicago in 1971, a time when it was clear a shift in society was leading to a powerful undermining of the value of faith, the family unit, and justice. For Franzen, it seems, even the thought of Clem giving himself to the draft board is met with a shift and reversal. The shifts through society, church, self, and government have wrought in stone the epidemic of ‘me’, ‘I’; where once ‘we’, ‘us’ had brought home Russ’s generation from war, and accepted the complacent motion of family building and society engagement. It is a moment of psychiatry, psychology, and a turning away from the church to therapy. We see Marion falling into her own therapy hole with a therapist who seems to set Marion off on a rambunctious course of action. It must be understood here, Russ is from a strong Mennonite background forging ties with God and family, but in their stricture he lost a key figure, his grandfather, to an affair Russ will ultimately revise and imitate. Marion is from a mixed Catholic and Jewish background, her father a non-practicing Jew who leaves her early, and her mother an arm-pinching Catholic. She must hide her mental illness and therapy from the Hildebrandts. Marion is sheltered after her catastrophe in young adulthood by her gay uncle and his partner, Antonio. I believe it is through them, as a lens of contact, we begin to see Marion’s shift toward her better self, near thirty years after her horrible experiences, and through her initial contact with Russ we see Russ’s ‘beginning to accept gays’, a kind of subtle undertow of a better culture to come unburdening Russ and Marion of certain types of hate and exclusivity. Marion comes to believe she herself is incapable of healing. “Potentially irreparable,” she believes she has dirtied Perry, her most disturbed child, through her own disease. We are fastened in from the moment we read the narratives of these characters chasing one another through the streets of New Prospect.
Anymore, we are a simple-natured beast when it comes to narrative design, and much of our reading of Franzen’s work has been grouped in with contemporary, big, social novels. I stress that this is an historical novel, new as it is for Franzen, his reining in of his own particular list of interests should be understood as personal development of a novelist seeking an acute and sophisticated form within a historical context and characters requiring as much research as rendering. In a moment of character portrayal early on I found Franzen’s best-portrayed character of the novel, who came across as quick and as graceful as he was gone, a south-sider preacher, Theo Crenshaw.
“He was dressed in a saggy velour pullover and ill-fitting stretch trousers. He seemed immune to the vanity that had led Russ to wear his favorite shirt and his sheepskin coat for Frances. The poignancy of an urpan preacher, beloved on Sundays to the women of his congregation but otherwise so very alone in his church, with no support staff, no associate, his annual salary paltry, his primary sustenance spiritual, was especially keen on a raw December evening.”
Franzen has many excellent portrayals and moments of high prose in Crossroads. That this is the easiest to access and describe should say something about the inter-meshing of characters’ insights and awareness of others. Franzen nails some Chicago truths in passages we should expect from a researched novel, like Mayor Daley’s racist city works, the ill-functioning child-protection system in Illinois; all as some kind of dreary backdrop for the Crossroads group to be a sanctuary. In the youth group we find a key antagonist to Russ, whom we must eventually accept as our protagonist (though we can see Marion as central if we tilt our heads to listen), and in Rick Ambrose we find a near chemical opposite to Russ. Rick is with it among the youth of New Foundation, and the youth group, where Russ had been voted out in an embarrassing show of hands. Rick speaks in particularly damning truths to all, the while Russ squirms under Rick’s power. In scene after scene between the two we understand a prior deep friendship that went sour between them, turned hateful and ultimately resolved in a now known hatred between the two men, but not before we witness the height of Franzen’s novel, wherein hate mounts to a point of verbal and near physical blows interrupted, to the nth breathless degree, by Rick leaving the room and returning with a collection pate. He will wash Russ’s feet. It is a defining scene from a strong first novel of a tryptic Franzen intends to construct in the coming years. Undoing his commitment to steer clear of historical fiction, mainly, I believe, inspired by his encounter with Penelope Fitzgerald’s The Blue Flower, and the energy he found in the Patrick Melrose novels, Franzen returns to us with a historical novel in a dialect shifting from character to character high to moderately high, in a book we anticipate will set off a great trilogy.
- Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2025Although the story deals with many aspects of human frailty and strengths, I suspect those with a more Christian background than myself would find the characters more compelling... good storytelling, and overall, I found the writing excellent.
- Reviewed in the United States on October 28, 2021Format: HardcoverVerified PurchaseFranzen doesn’t so much create original stories anymore; he perfects ones that exist, and tweaks makeshift ones into masterpieces of fiction. He’s never better than when he focuses on family and dramatic domestic dynamics. CROSSROADS, which takes place in the 1970s, centers on pastor Russ Hildebrandt and his more Catholic wife, Marion, one of the most memorable female protagonists in eons (on that level of intensity). If for no other reason, read this to meet Marion. These are key archetypes and themes, and also convoluted and Shakespearean with a (tragi-) comedy of errors. Existential characters seek freedom from contradictions by adhering to Christian doctrine--or rejecting it.
The title Crossroads could be called Blurred Boundaries. Russ and Marion and their four children--Clem, Becky, Perry, and Judson--are all highly intelligent and distinctively damaged. Generally, they live with poor boundaries. Reader, you’ll relate. Franzen doesn’t break walls, or puncture through ceilings with plot, but he will dazzle you with the authenticity of Marion, Russ, and three of their four children. Judson is the youngest child and the only one not fleshed out. (I think it is purposeful.) Depth of character is Franzen’s wheelhouse, and this narrative (a genre that he invented or at least contoured for the modern era) illustrates how lives bleed into each other, and who we are willing to discard on our way to become authentic and happy (or selfish and charlatan). Franzen practically created the modern domestic drama, and now he’s rearranging and adding the complication of religion.
Crossroads is the youth group connected to the First Reformed church, where Russ Hildebrandt preaches (but he’s associate, not the lead). Rick Ambrose is the young, attractive, and hip new head counselor at Crossroads. His teenagers at the center admire, respect, and practically worship him. Ambrose and Russ’s antipathy toward each other creates much of this novel’s suspense; the roots of the feud are gradually revealed. The torture for Russ never stops, despite the fact that he created this quagmire.
Franzen shows us religion (Christianity) through a laid back (not extremist) and compassionate lens. I’m an atheist and yet I was not turned off by First Reformed’s guiding principles and gentle approach to parishioners. You don’t have to agree with its doctrine to still respect the even-handed patronage (However incongruously, there’s still a struggle with hypocrisy by those that preach and parent).
Crossroads is the first in a trilogy, which will likely take us through to the present, and possibly beyond, to a dystopian-esque near-future. The trilogy itself is allegedly named, A Key to All Mythologies, and I’m stumped how that fits in with Crossroads, the novel (which is assuredly fitting). Every primary character in this novel will stand at a personal crossroads. Some, like son Perry, will bring you to your knees. His infernal fall from child to enfant terrible troubled my nightly dreams as I continued to read.
Romantic Love, sister/brother love, honor, addiction, betrayal, greed, adultery, rape, understanding, generosity, self-pity--all and more are explored. “It was strange that self-pity wasn’t on the list of deadly sins… None was deadlier.”
Despite the degeneracy of a few characters, Franzen also counters the ugly with the softest, gentlest, and most forgiving grace that I remember from his novels Purity, Freedom, and even Corrections. The author’s empathy for his characters’ worst behaviors is crucial to this story. That is what allows him to explore his cast so thoroughly, and the deviances so particularly. Every time a segment ends on a character, I start off the next part wishing to go back to the character I was reading. But, Franzen is so talented a portraitist that by the time that a few pages pass into another character, I’m hooked again. That’s a skill that Franzen confidently possesses.
God as a concept has some Navajo power and the story’s spirituality often encompasses desire for wisdom and balance, which contrasts with those seven deadly sins-- gluttony, greed, lust, envy, pride, and the rest. At the crossroads of each Hildebrandt--individually and as a family, moderation is crushed by dangerous indulgences.
Now I’m eager for book #2. All the characters have a lot more living to do, and I suspect that the sidelined or obscured ones will carry more weight in the second book, their story blossoming. If it weren’t for the fact of a trilogy, I would have criticized the ending for being rushed and unfinished, but Franzen is setting up for the next book. (Still, no excuse for a teensy-bit of a sloppy ending). All is forgiven, because I inhabited this book for many hours, and I’m still having a hard time transitioning to another book.
Starting around the 400 mark, there were about fifty pages that don’t fit the style and tone of the rest of the book. That part is a chronicle of Russ and his history with the Navajo tribe, and also how he met Marion. The tone was dry and flat, but the prose was still beautiful. I wondered if he removed his original work and replaced it with what read like journalistic entries.
Cutting to the deepest theme hits the bone. The seven deadly sins serve biblically for the story’s underpinnings and fear factor of bad behavior. Can a hypocritical pastor nevertheless be effective at work? While the parents are busy with their self-indulgent mid-life crises, the children are all over the map. (This is not to disparage Marion’s past trauma). Becky is a natural leader with her cool head. Clem is dear to Becky but otherwise distant from family. He’s older. Judson, the youngest, was more of a sketch at this point. Franzen also blends in existential philosophy into the narrative. As Spielberg keeps looking for a father in his art, Franzen will eternally seek answers about existence.
Where do we learn morality? Of course, from reading a Jonathan Franzen novel! This is his best character study novel yet. Marion just blows me away. Read it, literature and character geeks!
Top reviews from other countries
- Jorge De Sa GouveiaReviewed in Spain on September 10, 2022
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, great service delivery
Great service! It's a great Franzen.
-
IsasympaReviewed in France on November 18, 2022
5.0 out of 5 stars Défiguration/transfiguration
Ce que j'apprécie particulièrement dans ce livre, c'est la juxtaposition, parfois brutale, des façons souvent trés différentes, d'un personnage à l'autre, de percevoir les mêmes évènements et les mêmes personnes. Ce que Perry voit de ce qu'il fait, pense et dit, n'est pas ce que sa soeur, ni sa mère perçoivent de lui et ce qu'il aperçoit du monde est son monde à lui. Ces heurts de perceptions discordantes produisent, à la lecture, une espèce de vertige grisant, comme si la réalité objective était perdue au fond d'un abîme. Magnifique.
- Antonio F. RosReviewed in Mexico on January 30, 2022
1.0 out of 5 stars Not his best by a long shot
After reading The Corrections and, particularly, Freedom, I was convinced that Franzen was a force to be reckoned. All the press reviews I thought were spot on. But Crossroads seems like the work of some body else. It is plainly boring and lacking all the luster and intelligence of those previous two books.
- Deborah M.Reviewed in Canada on September 22, 2022
5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful read through and through. Loved it!
Loved this novel so much that I turned around and ordered a copy for a friend’s 50th birthday.
Beautifully written.
- Edoardo AngeloniReviewed in Italy on August 1, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars A good scenario of Usa of Trump
Franzen with Freedom has written a great picture of cultural frame of Obama. In Crossroad the context from Obama to Trump is very changed.The peple don't talk about sociology or music, but about teology. Also Andrea De Carlo in "Io, Jack e Dio" has had the same idea.