

Vibrantly alive with multilayered characters and dazzling set pieces, Crossroads finds the acclaimed author of Freedom and The Corrections delivering a breathtaking saga of family dysfunction at a pivotal moment in America's twentieth century.
Set in a historical moment of moral crisis, Crossroads is the stunning foundation of a sweeping investigation of human mythologies, as the Hildebrandt family navigate the political and social crosscurrents of the past fifty years.
It's December 23, 1971, and heavy weather is forecast for Chicago. Russ Hildebrandt, the associate pastor of a liberal suburban church, is on the brink of breaking free of a marriage he finds joyless - unless his wife, Marion, who has her own secret life, beats him to it. Their eldest child, Clem, is coming home from college on fire with moral absolutism, having taken an action that will shatter his father. Clem's sister, Becky, long the social queen of her high-school class, has sharply veered into the counterculture, while their brilliant younger brother Perry, who's been selling drugs to seventh-graders, has resolved to be a better person. Each of the Hildebrandts seeks a freedom that each of the others threatens to complicate.
Jonathan Franzen's novels are celebrated for their unforgettably vivid characters and their keen-eyed take on the complexities of contemporary America. Now, for the first time, in Crossroads, Franzen explores the history of a generation. With characteristic humour and complexity, and with even greater warmth, he conjures a world that feels no less immediate. A tour de force of interwoven perspectives and sustained suspense, Crossroads is the story of a Midwestern family at a historical moment of moral crisis. Jonathan Franzen's gift for melding the small picture and the big picture has never been more dazzlingly evident.
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
ISBN: 9780008308896
Number of pages: 592
Weight: 890 g
Dimensions: 240 x 159 x 42 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
Praise for Jonathan Franzen:
'A literary genius for our time' - The Guardian
'Arguably America's greatest living novelist' - The Daily Telegraph
'Franzen is that rare bird: a literary novelist of the highest distinction who has also become one of the bestsellers of the age' - Evening Standard
'Franzen's words crackle with wit humour and wisdom' - Shortlist
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“Brilliant epic.”
“Crossroads” is the first book in the “ A Key to All Mythologies “ trilogy by the one of the greatest living novelists of America. It follows three generations of a Midwest family corresponding with the ever changing... More
“Brilliantly done”
Probably my favourite of all his novels. The characters are fully realised, and the narrative never sags, which is pretty amazing in a book this big.
“One of the best books I've read this year”
I'm glad I picked up Crossroads before the year came to a close, because it was such a fabulous read and definitely one of my favourite books of the year. Crossroads is at once a coming-of-age story and a... More
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