Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - Crossroads

My first completed book of 2023, and I couldn't have started with anything longer or more complicated. I felt like at times this book was fiery car wreck I couldn't look away from and yet I was also invested to the point that I felt the need to finish it.

The characters. Almost all of the characters in this book were fairly deplorable and really hard to root for at different times. I found myself most sympathetic with Perry-- he clearly needed someone to see him for who he really was and for the help that he needed. The one time he's actually honest with another person, he shares with his mother who is not in a state of low mental health and overshares with him to the point of sending him spiraling out of control in his own mental health. I felt so sorry for him, and was so frustrated that no one noticed his clear addiction to drugs, that no one questioned whether or not he was still using drugs even though he told his mom he didn't sell pot anymore. I totally understood his panic at the idea that his worst fears of himself were realized by his own mother's story, and therefore he felt doomed to the same fate. Though Marion was not in a healthy place, her sharing with Perry what happened in her past (her father's suicide, her own mental illness and hospitalization) in the brusque and unthinking way she did was so problematic and it's no wonder Perry spiraled into anxiety and depression because of it. I loved his intelligence and his creativity, and I just wanted to give him a hug (in Crossroads fashion).

Marion was at various points totally likeable, completely unlikeable, and someone I had a lot of sympathy for. She is smart and witty like Perry, and she seems like two completely different people (and maybe that's the point?) After reading her flashback chapters I felt low myself, it was so painful to read and revisit through her slightly crazed perspective. I did not understand her marriage with Russ, nor her complete sense of giving up on him, until 3/4 of the way through the book where Franzen gave background on her and Russ' marriage and beginning of their relationship. Turns out they were both all over the place in terms of their convictions, insecurities, and past baggage, and they found solace in each other and finding something new together. For the first half of the book, I was totally scandalized by Russ's actions (and Marion's, honestly), but learning their background and lack of a foundation for their marriage, it makes more sense how they justified it. Overall I felt like Marion, her history and her religious practices etc didn't really "fit" very well into the story being woven. I felt like she was a character in a different story altogether.

Russ was one of the worst characters in a book I had read in a long time. His continuous excusal for his errors-- not even that-- more like, his lack of regard for the implications of his decisions was just completely frustrating and left me feeling sick. His outward emotional affair with Frances, and eventually physical affair, was so disappointing, particularly how he seemed afraid to be caught but at the same time completely okay with being caught. He almost wanted his children to find out, wanted Marion to leave him. He was so completely caught up in his own way of thinking, his own never ending self-pity, I just could not handle him. He is referred to a few different times as a boy, both by himself, and Marion, and I think Clem, as well.. and there's so much accuracy to this. Of all of his faults, I found the most distaste for his disinterest in his children's well being, and his clear favoritism for Becky & Clem. His dislike of Perry broke my heart. I don't know what it's like to be a parent of a teenager, but I hope that if I have a son like Perry I will learn to approach him with love and seek his well being despite how "appalling" he might be. Second to his self-interested approach to parenting was his clear selfishness and truly astounding levels of insecurity in ministry. The fact that he is looking for affirmation in the eyes of popular high schoolers, and high school girls at that? Gross. Where is the accountability in this church system? The only person holding him slightly accountable appears to be Ambrose, but Russ' hatred for Ambrose was as strong as death. I can't even say he redeemed himself at the end. It's true what he said-- he didn't deserve Marion. Her lies were nothing compared to his constant disregard for her and desire to inflict emotional harm on her. Russ was the worst. The worst. I hope he isn't part of the next book. I'm not interested.

As for Becky & Clem, I don't have much interest in them either. Both are selfish, and quite frankly I didn't understand their relationship or what we as readers were supposed to think about them. Are they interested in each other sexually? Why do they both feel so weird about their tight-knit sibling relationship? Weird. Becky was easily second worse character shortly behind Russ-- she was completely self-absorbed, and her relationship with God felt similar to her father's in that it was about mountain-top experiences and serving her own ambitions. Clem was definitely not the center of the story, but I was pretty struck by his shame with his father and his total embarrassment by his dad's weakness. It was an interesting perspective on how kids view their parents as they get older, and what happens when they unearth the truth behind their parents. I enjoyed his stint in Peru at the end-- the change of scenery into the forest and farmlands was relaxing and I felt transported.

I suspect this is what Jonathan Franzen wants his readers to feel about each of these characters. But that doesn't make the reading of it any more enjoyable. It was so hard to root for Russ, or Becky, or even Marion. Perry gets a pass. I like Perry.

The commentary. The timeline of this book was interesting, taking place in the 1970's, where the Jesus movement, the Vietnam War, and Nixon's presidency where all center stage. I have so many questions about Jonathan Franzen's relationship with Christianity and what his religious background includes. He wrote about the life of a Christian with such complexity and detail that I would be shocked if he didn't come from a background of some sort of Christianity, or even if he were a currently practicing Christian. The critique of religious hypocrisy, insecurity as a minister, and the detailed and complicated thoughts he expressed felt like an "inside job," something that only someone who has spent a long time in this world would be able to write about. It was fascinating how Russ could be so caught up in sin and moral error (ie, flirting and seeking out time with a woman who was clearly not his wife), and then the next moment speak to Frances or someone about the complexity of the relationship between white and black people, or speak to Clyde on the Navajo reservation with honesty and respect. I was both impressed and disgusted. It felt like a window into the lives of pastors who "fall from grace," the detailed description of exactly how they justify their actions and sin, and at the same time keep preaching true words of God from the pulpit, or publish books that still resonate with many people and hold universal truths, but come from someone wrapped in self-pity and sin. Complicated. I was most struck by the fact that it was his insecurity, more than anything else, that seemed to weaken him. His insecurity brought Russ to such low places, his childlike need to be right and have the upper hand bringing him to the depths of moral character flaws.

The commentary on the Crossroads group was also interesting, and hit me specifically as a person in ministry. The youth group is highly emotional, really focused on "vulnerability" more than forming them to become disciples, so much so that Russ's prayers are offensive and he's eventually exiled from the group (for lots of reasons, but I was surprised that prayer was not allowed to be part of the group?) The main point here though for me was the reminder that I personally do not want to be in youth ministry, and this only reemphasized the point. It made me think about the truly hormonal nature of youth groups (the games where you lay on each other, the lingering hugs, blah blah) and that it's no wonder many teenagers in groups like this fall away from faith.... their faith was primarily built upon the emotions they feel when their friends respond well to them, and the promise of seeing their crush across the room, etc. I sound super cynical but I can't lie it made me have disdain for the classic giant youth group! And of course, made me think about how my own college ministry perpetuates similar things.

I thought Russ's spiritual realizations that he had while on the Navajo reservation were pretty insightful and interesting; mostly, he realized that God was bigger than he realized and that maybe these people had genuine faith as well. I believe the expression repeated in this section was "there are multiple ways to skin a cat."

Overall most of the Christianity in the book felt very weak and unfounded, not actually built upon love of God (though there was plenty of talk of love of God, but this felt more like love of those *moments* with God each of the characters tended to have) but just something to be done because it was the right thing to do. This clearly wasn't foundation enough, as each of the characters spiraled into their own moral crises. This, too, feels intentional on Franzen's part.

The last 4/5. I felt that the book was too long for the lengths of deplorability the story contained. I couldn't stand Frances, and Frances and Russ... ugh I can't even think about it. Her willingness to bring him to that level. Bleh. But anyways, the last 4/5 of the book picked up speed again and I regained interest in what was going to happen to each of the characters. I was honestly impressed and felt a glimmer of hope with the reconciliation between Marion & Russ. It was totally surprising, and her grace to him was one evidence of seemingly genuine "faith" in the story. Maybe Marion was the most authentically Christian of all of them? Ha. I only wish Russ' renewed interest in her didn't come with her dramatic weight loss. That was sad to me. I don't understand why Becky is so angry at her parents to the point of excommunicating them from her life and her new family and baby. She is childlike like her father. Clem certainly redeemed himself at the end and I found myself liking him and interested in where his story would go.

And an interesting connection for me. Part way through reading this book, I realized some strong similarities to my own family. My parents were probably about the same age as Clem & Becky in this story-- my mom would have been 20 in 1973, my dad 25. They met at a pot party, which is something I always used to say with shame or judgement, but reading this book I really did realize that that was exceedingly normal for "the times." My mom ran away from home when she was maybe 18 or so, and followed my dad to Florida (I think.) There, after living together for a couple of years, she started attending a church that I believe was lutheran. That was where she learned that she and my dad were "living in sin" and she repented and was adamant that they get married. They did, and her parents didn't come to the wedding (out of disapproval, disinterest, or some other reason, I don't know). When my siblings were in middle school they separated for a short period of time. The details are fuzzy, but I see a lot of connections between this story and the beginning of my parents marriage. I think I realized this particularly with Marion's devotion to Catholicism after her time in Los Angeles and Arizona, and Becky's conversion to "real" Christianity despite her iciness towards her parents.

The writing. I was most impressed with Franzen's ability to put to words the complicated thoughts, feelings, hidden desires and motives, and insecurities of the characters. I felt he wrote things down that I would never have been able to found the words to write. It was impressive.

I hope in the next book we get more of Clem, who hopefully learns from his families mistakes. I'd love to see Perry recover, though I don't doubt that will be a complicated part of the story. I don't know how far into the future the story will go but I'd love it if it jumped to the children all being 40's/50's and followed their own relationship with their children.

Content Warnings

kah296's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

It was good, I’m just not sure it really said anything new. I think I read that it’s going to be a trilogy? Curious to see how that plays out. Much like his other books, it is well written but not particularly original.

Content Warnings

reverie_and_books's review against another edition

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challenging reflective slow-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

5.0

Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen - Review (🇬🇧 + 🇩🇪)

This was my first book by Franzen and it will not be my last. What follows is a lose collection of parts I thoroughly enjoyed:

The vivid characterization: Not one of these characters is overly likeable. I don’t need likeable figures, I’m intrigued by tangible ones. Those who really mess things up, understandably so.

The family dynamics: it is told from multiple PoVs. The parents and the oldest three of their four children get to tell their side of things.

A portal back: it takes place in the 1970s. These characters have (as far as I can be a judge of that) the mindset of their time. But it is written in a way that doesn’t seem backwards, just sensitive of their time and ours.

The exploration of the male ego and female insecurity: Russ is a patriarch in Christian cloth on an ego trip. His wife Marion is the one who »refines« his sermons. She is insecure and little acknowledged. For me the question arises, whether their underlying issues aren’t of the same nature.

Explorations of Christianity: I’m not religious at all and at times I have difficulties to relate. But that’s okay, at least in »Crossroads« it is. The discussions around faith, the dimensions of it, the underlying goal. It was worthwhile to read for me.

Definitely a highlight of 2021.

CN: body shaming, drug abuse, white saviorism, mental illness.

_____

🇩🇪 Crossroads von Jonathan Franzen

Dies war mein erstes Buch von Franzen und wird nicht das letzte gewesen sein. Es folgt eine lose Auflistung von Dingen, die mir besonders gefallen haben.

Lebendige Charaktere: Keine der Figuren ist besonders sympathisch. Das brauche ich auch gar nicht, mir ist viel wichtiger dass sie nahbar sind und Chaos stiften. Großartig!

Familien-Dynamik: Die Geschichte wird aus fünf Perspektiven erzählt: die Eltern und die drei ältesten der vier Kinder.

Zeitreise: Es spielt in den 70ern. Die Charaktere haben gängige Auffassungen und Glaubenssätze ihrer Zeit (soweit ich das beurteilen kann). Das Buch wirkt aber nicht rückständig, Franzen zollt eher Respekt für ihre damalige Zeit und ordnet sie in unsere ein.

Facetten des männlichen Egos und der weiblichen Unsicherheit: Russ ist ein Patriarch im Pastoren-Gewand auf einem Ego-Trip. Seine Frau Marion ist eine hingebungsvolle Mutter und Ehefrau mit einer fast konträren Vergangenheit. Beide fühlen sich nicht gesehen und wertgeschätzt. Die Kombination ist sehr – sagen wir mal – interessant.

Religion: Eigentlich gar nicht mein Thema, hier fand ich die Betrachtung und Bedeutung der Religion für die Charaktere jedoch sehr interessant.

Definitiv ein Jahreshighlight in 2021!

Inhaltswarnungen: Bodyshaming, Drogenmissbrauch, Mentale Gesundheit

Content Warnings

katerinapsi's review against another edition

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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

5.0

Content Warnings

terrales's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

Content Warnings

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