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A review by andrewspink
Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Nearly six hundred pages of a completely dysfunctional and unlikeable family. I didn't like any of the characters, they are all horrible people. That meant that, in parts, the book was quite a struggle. I found it especially hard in the beginning, but after I got going, then it began to carry me along a bit.
That is not to say that I'm all negative about the book. It does explore some interesting themes. It is mostly set in the 70s in Illinois, in the suburbs of Chicago. I lived in Illinois for a few years (but in the 90s) and there were certainly elements of the church life presented there that were familiar for me. But all the drugs and sex and lying and cheating was so extreme that Franzen could easily have presented the same plot as a comedy.
There is also quite a lot of philosophising about the role of a white middle-class church in America with relation to alleviating poverty; for instance, whether charitable works is an adequate response to the injustices in that society. There are some aspects (lack of healthcare for many people) which Franzen mentions (for instance, the crippling bills presented to the family near the end) but it is a bit unclear to me whether he just takes it for granted that that is how life (in America) is, or whether he expects the reader to pick up on what a ridiculous system this was (and is).
I'm also a bit puzzled as to why he set the book 50 years ago. Is that because if he set is in more recent time, it would be more politicized and therefore the focus would move away from the character faults of the characters? Or perhaps it was to do with the large youth groups in churches which were prominent at that time?
What I really liked about the book was that each chapter was written from the perspective of a different character. That was very well done (although I wished some of the chapters could have been a bit shorter) and certainly added an extra dimension to the book.
That is not to say that I'm all negative about the book. It does explore some interesting themes. It is mostly set in the 70s in Illinois, in the suburbs of Chicago. I lived in Illinois for a few years (but in the 90s) and there were certainly elements of the church life presented there that were familiar for me. But all the drugs and sex and lying and cheating was so extreme that Franzen could easily have presented the same plot as a comedy.
There is also quite a lot of philosophising about the role of a white middle-class church in America with relation to alleviating poverty; for instance, whether charitable works is an adequate response to the injustices in that society. There are some aspects (lack of healthcare for many people) which Franzen mentions (for instance, the crippling bills presented to the family near the end) but it is a bit unclear to me whether he just takes it for granted that that is how life (in America) is, or whether he expects the reader to pick up on what a ridiculous system this was (and is).
I'm also a bit puzzled as to why he set the book 50 years ago. Is that because if he set is in more recent time, it would be more politicized and therefore the focus would move away from the character faults of the characters? Or perhaps it was to do with the large youth groups in churches which were prominent at that time?
What I really liked about the book was that each chapter was written from the perspective of a different character. That was very well done (although I wished some of the chapters could have been a bit shorter) and certainly added an extra dimension to the book.