Crossroads

A Novel

By: Jonathan Franzen

Narrated by: David Pittu

Length: 24 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

2021, Time Magazine Best Books of the Year * Amazon.com Best Books of the Year * NPR Best Book of the Year * The Guardian (UK) Best Books of the Year * Los Angeles Times Holiday Books Guide * Washington Post Best Books of the Year * Hudson Booksellers Best of the Year * Vogue Magazine Best Books of the Year * Minneapolis Star Tribune Holiday Book Recommendations * New York Times Book Review Notable Books of the Year * Seattle Times Best Books of the Year * Financial Times Books of the Year * Oprah.com Best Books of the Year * Kirkus Reviews Best Books of the Year * Slate Book Review Best Books of the Year * USA Today Best Books of the Year

Jonathan Franzen’s gift for wedding depth and vividness of character with breadth of social vision has never been more dazzlingly evident than in Crossroads.

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 for their keen-eyed take on contemporary America. Now, in Crossroads, Franzen ventures back into the past and explores the history of two generations. With characteristic humor and complexity, and with even greater warmth, he conjures a world that resonates powerfully with our own.

A tour de force of interwoven perspectives and sustained suspense, its action largely unfolding on a single winter day, Crossroads is the story of a Midwestern family at a pivotal moment of moral crisis. Jonathan Franzen’s gift for melding the small picture and the big picture has never been more dazzlingly evident.

David Pittu is a two-time Tony Award nominee, as well as the award-winning narrator of countless audiobooks, ranging in genre from young adult (Scholastic’s 39 Clues series) to spy fiction (Olen Steinhauer’s The Last Tourist and Milo Weaver series) to the contemporary fiction of authors such as Jeffrey Eugenides (The Marriage Plot), Donna Tartt (The Goldfinch), and many more.

Pittu received the Audie Award for Best Male Solo Narration for The Goldfinch, which also received the Audie for Best Literary Fiction.

Not only a veteran theater actor, he works regularly in film and television. He lives in New York City.

©2021 Jonathan Franzen (P)2021 Macmillan Audio

Loved, loved, loved every word

I gobbled this up as greedily as if someone had placed in front of me a resplendent chocolate cake. If I could give the narrator 10 stars, I would. This book was so important for me...the deconstruction of each member of the Hildebrandt family was done so masterfully, I rode along each word and each sentence with delight and admiration and often a sense of familiarity, even though I didn't grow up in a religious family. I can't wait for the next installment of the trilogy. I was very sad when the book ended. A great listen.

Best story, brought me back to the 70s and my childhood.

Jonathan Franzen has an incredible knack of being able to show each character’s deep insecurities and to explain the experiences that shape their perspectives on life, how siblings rarely have the same experience growing up in the same house with the same parents and family members, and how hard it is for people to see beyond their own wants and desires and needs. Incredible book! Great narrator!

Great novel, comical reader

I’ve been a big fan of of Jonathan Franzen and look forward to everything he writes, even this novel telling the tale of a dysfunctional family of completely disagreeable people (all of them except the youngest son). As for the performance, one thing I’ve learned from reading the reviews is how much your opinion can differ from that expressed by others. David Pittu’s narration of the story and the dialogue of the male adult characters was fine but his attempt at women’s voices and that of adolescent boys was awful (and Marion, Frances, Laura and Perry particularly cringing .)

Wonderfully drawn characters and absorbing story

Franzen does his usual superb job of crafting believable and interesting characters. So glad this is part one of a trilogy!

Franzen's Painfully Poignant Insights

The author adroitly delves into the conflicted essence of the human condition by exploring complicated topics like family relationships, longing, guilt, and faith. Franzen sheds light on thoughts and feelings we seldom, if ever, reveal to each other. There is a level of depth and authenticity here that I've seldom encountered in fiction. I am eagerly anticipating the next installment in the series!

Gorgeous & amazing. Perfectly read by David Pittu

Grand, all of it. Franzen has grown even more expert at manipulating time and going inside and out of each character's personality. The characters drew me in immediately. I cared about them and the story came naturally. His dialogue was pitch-perfect, as usual, and I was struck by the interior depth of his female characters, they made sense to me. I also loved the ending. Plenty for the reader to interpret! I think the last line, especially given the couple scenes right before, gave something special for the reader to muse, especially after devoting close to 600 pages to the characters' evolution. It is what great literary fiction is all about.

I felt the reader, David Pittu, really got the book right. Franzen's complicated characters naturally undergo massive self-discovery, exposure, and change in 592 pages and David's tone intuitively understood the writing. In the character of Mrs. Catrell, for example, I liked how her voice gradually went from sounding breathily "open" to bold and even a bit metallic near the end. I think it enhanced the reader's experience of her "exposure", Also, with so many Franzen characters and that much dialogue, David seemed to develop shortcuts, sketches of people, to cover the many walk-ons. I think those devices helped his reading not get in the way of the book (which is often the case with audiobooks -- they try too hard!) David's reading was an asset, I think I better heard the beauty in the author's writing. I tend to read the page too quickly by myself. Also, since his narration pace is that of stage theater, it is a natural "fit" for Franzen. I hope he is chosen as the reader for all three books in the series.

On a personal note, my age is one year younger than Clem. I feel Franzen really nailed that period, little known and studied. I wasn't in a youth group but I was one of the smart cool kids who, in 1969, suddenly had access to a myriad of drugs at high school on the West Coast. LSD was legal, no one really knew what it was yet. My boyfriend back then, Clem's age, was captain of the basketball team and had a high draft pick. He died of an overdose.

Very good

This is the first book that I have listened to by this author but I will definitely be listening to more. The story was great. what I liked most is the way the author is able to connect your feelings to the characters' feelings in everyday life. although the story may not relate to you the human emotions and daily life as a whole is very relatable. it opened up a sense of emotion al awareness I didnt realize I was going through everyday. it actually helped me understand myself a little better.

WOW!!

My words cannot do this book justice. It has so many layers and character building/developing. It is accurate to the time period and so realistic and relatable, I felt like I knew the family personally!
This was a recommendation and I cannot wait to delve into others work by the author.
The narrator hit it out the park with his work as well! 10/10 stars!

Good but lots of religion and not complete

This is the first book of a trilogy and doesn’t have a real ending. It was definitely well written and stacked up to his great books. But the Corrections was better with much more colorful characters. Freedom was a masterpiece. Changed the way I look at what true freedom is. This book doesn’t do anything like that. The characters pray a lot and are Bible people. Just a different vibe. The narrator was great. Although made the women a bit whiny.

reader from south texas

I loved this book. the characters are evoked in ways that make you ache, make you laugh, make you nod in recognition. America in the early 70s comes to life in this beautiful novel. Am very much looking forward to the sequel