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Ron Charles's Reviews > Crossroads
Crossroads
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Thank God for Jonathan Franzen. His new novel, “Crossroads,” is the first of a planned trilogy modestly called “A Key to All Mythologies.” With its dazzling style and tireless attention to the machinations of a single family, “Crossroads” is distinctly Franzenesque, but it represents a marked evolution, a new level of discipline and even a deeper sense of mercy.
This time around, the celebrated chronicler of the Way We Live Now is exploring the Way We Lived Then — notably the early 1970s. And the gaping jaw of his earlier novels, capable of swallowing a vast body of cultural trends and commercial ills, has been replaced by a laser-eyed focus on the flutterings of the soul.
Before now, “soul” is not a term I would have associated with Franzen, whose brilliant, acerbic work has seemed committed to a purely material concept of human identity. But “Crossroads” feels consumed with the Psalmist’s question, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me?”
The story revolves around Rev. Russ Hildebrandt, an associate pastor at an active Protestant church in suburban Chicago. When the novel opens, 47-year-old Russ is still smarting from the brutal cancelation of. . . .
To read the rest of this review, go to The Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entert...
This time around, the celebrated chronicler of the Way We Live Now is exploring the Way We Lived Then — notably the early 1970s. And the gaping jaw of his earlier novels, capable of swallowing a vast body of cultural trends and commercial ills, has been replaced by a laser-eyed focus on the flutterings of the soul.
Before now, “soul” is not a term I would have associated with Franzen, whose brilliant, acerbic work has seemed committed to a purely material concept of human identity. But “Crossroads” feels consumed with the Psalmist’s question, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me?”
The story revolves around Rev. Russ Hildebrandt, an associate pastor at an active Protestant church in suburban Chicago. When the novel opens, 47-year-old Russ is still smarting from the brutal cancelation of. . . .
To read the rest of this review, go to The Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entert...
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Reading Progress
September 26, 2021
–
Started Reading
September 26, 2021
– Shelved
October 5, 2021
– Shelved as:
religion-spirituality
October 5, 2021
–
Finished Reading
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Sonya
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rated it 5 stars
Oct 05, 2021 05:58AM
I’ve been waiting for this novel so long. Yay.
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Far zen is on my huge ‘to read’ list. Which book do you recommend for a first time reader of this author? Thanks!
Obviously autocorrect, Franzen.
Martine wrote: "Far zen is on my huge ‘to read’ list. Which book do you recommend for a first time reader of this author? Thanks!""The Corrections"
I’m surprised there was no mention of the Middlemarch allusion - was this not a large element of the narrative?
Jude wrote: "I’m surprised there was no mention of the Middlemarch allusion - was this not a large element of the narrative?"Alas, so much is left out. I thought that mentioning that allusion would demand explaining that allusion, and I didn't feel I had room. Folks who know Eliot's work would have to draw their own conclusions.
So in short, you didn't read it, you just copied the review from WaPo
Ben wrote: "So in short, you didn't read it, you just copied the review from WaPo"
Is this a joke? ;)
Is this a joke? ;)
So, so good. I’m 30% in.
Ben wrote: "So in short, you didn't read it, you just copied the review from WaPo"You do realize that I'm a book critic at The Washington Post, don't you?
I am always looking for readers who loved a book as much as I did. I also look for those much better read than I am. My passion for reading has been rekindled in the past 18 months and I am catching up. I love deep character development. Franzen is a master of this. CROSSROADS was incredible. I recently finished Updike’s Rabbit series and was riveted. Middlesex. The Sportswriter and Independence Day. East of Eden. A Gentleman in Moscow. American Pastoral. The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. All resonated deeply. On the flip side, just finished Cormac McCarthy’s The Road and found it pointless. Any recommendations from someone much better read than myself GREATLY APPRECIATED.
You really like JF. Have you read Vollmann? What bipoc writers do you love, sir?
