Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen

6 reviews

milkfran's review against another edition

adventurous challenging medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A snapshot in time of the Hildebrandt family over one Christmas in Illinois in the 1970’s but interwoven with each character’s point of view and their thoughts, feelings, and recollections of the past. 
It’s hard to love any of the characters but it’s hard to hate them either: Franzen’s gift is to make them human as they wrestle with small dilemas that seem like big ones (“should I have an affair with a woman from church?”) and big dilemas that seem like small ones (“am I a coward for accepting a deferment for the draft?”). 

Really excited for the next ones if it’s going to be a trilogy!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Addiction, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Rape

lily_kruse's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicide, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Addiction, Drug use, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Fatphobia, Grief, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Vomit, Pregnancy, Rape, Racism, Abortion, and Blood

jessidbee's review against another edition

emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Mental illness, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abortion, Classism, Infidelity, Adult/minor relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, and Rape

alimalina's review against another edition

reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Truly, the god doesn't exist in the vast lands of colonised lands of the United States and this novel is proof of that. 
It is setup from the very beginning that this much like the Hildebrandslied, these people are only family in name, lacking the actual bonds that would make them recogniseble to one another. Everyone is too much up in their heads, busy fighting the God (their conscience if anything really) to even see people they live with.
The story of a Midwest family that hate each other is such a cliche but the text is aware of itself enough to be interesting. All of the characters are tragic,  set up to lose the thing they coveted the most, destined to never escape the fate living in godless land presented them with. Your agency, mind and principles will be lost and forgotten, only the mundane and boringly inevitable to stay. 
The writing is solid, the idea is executed brilliantly, the points of view of characters play with and against each other in an engaging way. 
I am afraid that the novel still slightly overstays it's welcome. 
Two questions have slightly bothered since finishing it: a) was this just a long setup to the trilogy and

Spoiler

b) why cocaine of all things really

.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use and Drug abuse

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Abortion

soavezefiretto's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Franzen's insight into his characters is masterful, but at times it gets to be too much. No one emerges unscathed, everyone is so flawed, and I suppose that's the intention.

Spoiler

But I still see clear differences: Marion and Perry on one side (redeemed because they are sick?), Russ and Becky, pathetic and mostly disagreeable, on the other, Clem sort of in the middle.

It's hard not to take sides. The attention to casual details that make the story richer (the blacksmith's workshop, the farm in the Andes, the Navajo reservation) is impressive. It's certainly a pleasure to read, but I missed a pause from the intensity here and there, a few pages where catastrophe is not looming, where I'm not dreading the next wrong decision. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse and Rape

Moderate: Mental illness

clarissas's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Addiction, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Rape, Mental illness, Infidelity, Fatphobia, Eating disorder, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Death of parent