Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen - Review by Mark Cornelius
Jonathan Franzen is widely hailed as a “literary genius” and “America’s greatest living novelist”. His book “The Corrections”, published in 2001, is one of the best American novels (that I have read!) published in this century. It’s a tale of a dysfunctional family that is both funny and sad. “Crossroads” is another tale of a family at odds with each other. It is set in the early 1970s. Indeed, most of the action in the book actually takes place on a single day close to Christmas, with much family history captured in flashback. It did start well, and it promised to justify the lavish praise Franzen has received for his writing. For a while I could not put it down. Then it stopped being compelling. And by the end I was struggling to finish it.
Franzen uses the close third person, and five characters take centre stage at different points as we move through the book. The key problem for me was the father, Russ Hildebrandt. He is an associate pastor at a church in a small town. He is self-obsessed and fraught with indecision. His life is one endless regret about how he could have achieved so much more. It might have been engaging in a shorter book, but this one is 580 pages long. Sadly, the “Russ chapters” are by far the longest and the most tedious.
The other characters are more engaging. Marion, Russ’s wife, also has many regrets, and is dissatisfied. Franzen manages her story more effectively. And we spend a lot less time with her! There is a very unsettling chapter, where Franzen describes Marion becoming mentally ill. That was a time I also wanted to put the book down, not because it was boring, but rather because it made very uncomfortable reading – a testament to Franzen’s talent.
Russ and Marion have four children. One is too young for a starring role. The others are certainly more interesting than the father. With them, I thought Franzen tried a little too hard. Their personas changed a bit too frequently and abruptly. It’s obviously difficult for me to remember being young. But I am not sure I or my friends went through so many character shifts as these teenagers do and so quickly – a lot of the action happens in a single day, don’t forget.
The book isn’t redeemed by Franzen addressing wider and important societal issues. In his novel, “Freedom”, for example, Franzen weaves a discussion of the environment into the story. Vietnam, native Americans, racism, religion and drugs are part of the backdrop in “Crossroads”. Does Franzen give us any new insights? I am not sure.
The book ends in mid-air. It’s deliberate. Franzen has said that this is the first book in a trilogy. So we can expect another 1000 pages at some point. I may not be reading them.