Weekend Book Review: Crossroads

Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction

Edition Reviewed: Hardcover, 592 pages

Published October 5th 2021 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux

“It’s like there are these words, they’re out there in the world, and you start wondering what it would be like to say them. Words have their own power—they create the feeling, just by the fact of your saying them.” Jonathan Franzen harnesses the power of words and their endless combinations in Crossroads, the first tome in a trilogy that features the Hildebrandt family in all their complexities and mess. It is 1971 and the Hildebrandt family finds themselves at pivotal points in their individual lives, some tipping and others turning. Russ, an associate pastor, is struggling with resentment in his career and dissatisfaction in his marriage. His wife, Marion, has her own complicated past and unhappy present, wrapped in delusional desires for her future. Their four children, Clem, Becky, Perry, and Judson, living in the “crappy parsonage” with their preoccupied parents, struggle with their own moral and philosophical quandaries. And none of them come out of this short span of time unchanged.

Franzen’s overwhelmingly long chapters feature the viewpoints of each of the family members, except for Judson who is 11 and mostly along for the ride. The result is an intimate seat in the hearts and minds of these characters, sometimes too close for comfort. But it illuminates the complexities of being human; the fact that we all search for meaning and all make mistakes. The characters are so realistic, and the family dynamics so familiar, that their story evoked feelings of empathy, annoyance, endearment, and even disgust at times. The overall sentiment was one of cautious hope that these people would find redemption, healing, and connection.

However, I would be remiss to let someone who has not read this book think it is overly emotional or sentimental. It is quite the opposite, and the yearning and anguish that evoke emotion are secondary to Franzen’s masterful prose. His lengthy, erudite paragraphs and deft ability to take a soul and eloquently translate it onto the page are awe-inspiring, and keep us from being swept away in sentiment. There was a point about 400 pages in when he took a deep dive into Russ’ past that I debated giving up, as I wanted to get back to the messy lives he so lovingly laid bare. In my defense, this chapter was over 100 pages long, but I’m so glad I pushed through, as this extreme act of character development ended with me knowing Russ better than a member of my own family.

It takes patience to wade through the waters of human complexity that swirl with undercurrents of simplicity. But I for one was richly rewarded by the experience and highly anticipate the second installment of A Key to All Mythologies, a trilogy that Franzen intends to “span three generations and trace the inner life of our culture through the present day.”

Four and a half stars rounded up.



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