Linda's Reviews > Crossroads

“Clem could see a problem with Camus… he assumed the existence of a unitary consciousness that rationally deliberated moral choices when in fact a person’s real motives were complex and uncontrollable (p.114).”

Crossroads is the story of a dysfunctional family on the brink. The family, the Hilderbrandts, father, Russ, an assistant Pastor in an affluent white suburb of Chicago, mother, Marion, housewife, and editor of her husband’s sermons and four children, three of whom are in their teens. The story takes place in the early 1970s and is written from the alternating perspectives of the parents and their three teenage children. It chronicles each character’s struggle to determine what it means to be a good person.

I am new to Franzen and what I enjoyed most was the in-depth psychological portraits of his characters. He captured their attempts to make deliberate moral choices and the underlying baggage that motivated their actions with great skill. I found his portrayal of Marion especially moving. Franzen understands the zeitgeist of the early 1970s in the US and does an excellent job depicting the interplay between the historical context and the individual story. I highly recommend it.