RexLegendi reviewed Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen
Review of 'Crossroads' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Jonathan Franzen (1959) has an incredibly sharp and witty way of portraying American family life and values. Like his previous work ([b:The Corrections|50279046|The Corrections|Jonathan Franzen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1578205481l/50279046.SY75.jpg|941200], [b:Freedom|9276113|Vrijheid|Jonathan Franzen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1284122231l/9276113.SY75.jpg|9585796]), Crossroads focuses on an ostensibly modest family, in this case the Hildebrandts, who live in the fictional town of New Prospect, Illinois, in the early 1970s. Father Russ is a man of faith who constantly struggles (and fails) to reconcile his inner self with his moral aspirations, which is complicated by his longing for Frances Cottrell, a young widow and volunteer at his parish. Meanwhile, his wife Marion attempts to make up for a difficult youth, his oldest son Clem(ent) applies to go to Vietnam, his daughter Becky finds herself in love with a musician and his son Perry gets involved in drug trafficking.
Franzen puts his protagonists continuously to the test. A common thread throughout …
Jonathan Franzen (1959) has an incredibly sharp and witty way of portraying American family life and values. Like his previous work ([b:The Corrections|50279046|The Corrections|Jonathan Franzen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1578205481l/50279046.SY75.jpg|941200], [b:Freedom|9276113|Vrijheid|Jonathan Franzen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1284122231l/9276113.SY75.jpg|9585796]), Crossroads focuses on an ostensibly modest family, in this case the Hildebrandts, who live in the fictional town of New Prospect, Illinois, in the early 1970s. Father Russ is a man of faith who constantly struggles (and fails) to reconcile his inner self with his moral aspirations, which is complicated by his longing for Frances Cottrell, a young widow and volunteer at his parish. Meanwhile, his wife Marion attempts to make up for a difficult youth, his oldest son Clem(ent) applies to go to Vietnam, his daughter Becky finds herself in love with a musician and his son Perry gets involved in drug trafficking.
Franzen puts his protagonists continuously to the test. A common thread throughout the story is their desire to do what is ‘right’: even Becky and Perry – at their age – join a church youth group (Crossroads) in search of answers, only to find themselves entangled in a maze of perverse intentions. Their father remains the hardest case. Initially compared to Atticus Finch ([b:To Kill a Mockingbird|8045416|To Kill a Mockingbird (To Kill a Mockingbird, #1)|Harper Lee|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327156320l/8045416.SY75.jpg|3275794]) by his oldest son, Russ’ downfall is triggered by his inability to understand the times are a-changin’.
By dividing the chapters among the entire family (only Judson, the youngest, appears merely as a side character), Franzen shapes a bigger picture. I had a great time reading the book: it is spot on and often hilarious. Admittedly, the author did pick an idea or two from his earlier work, and I found parts of it a tad cynical – I don’t think I would have liked this family very much – but it adds to the story. Franzen addresses major topics (emancipation, faith and morality, generational differences, trauma processing, treatment of native Americans, among others) in a narrative that remains entertaining: only towards the end did it become somewhat tedious. I am nonetheless happy to award it five stars.