Welcome to Litsy!

If you‘re a fan of dysfunctional family dramas then this book is for you. Centering around the Hildebrandt family in the Chicago area in 1971, the story weaves between parents Russ, a pastor, and his wife Marion both in their present-day and before they met and their teenage children Perry, Clem, and Becky. There is a lot of religious discussion and symbolism throughout. At times, I think Franzen is a bit pretentious but it‘s still a strong story

Reading tagged book on Nelligan - one of my favorite places to read - paddleboat, some loons nearby, hearing voices travel across the lake of people swimming and enjoying the beautiful weather, seeing the girls play in the water with Miss Harper (I swear she's not a golden retriever - she keeps leaving the water and they coax her back in, oh puppy)...

This book is epic in both page count and its sheer literary scale. This examination of a family at literal crossroads in their own lives as well as in the culture of America at that time is like no other book I have ever read. Franzen explores themes of family, fidelity, coming of age, and religion just to name a few and he does this by weaving together a story about people who belong to each other but want to belong to themselves as well.

All members of the Hildebrandt family seem to have an existential crisis at exactly the same moment. God, a lack of God, sex, a lack of sex, drugs and rock ‘n‘ roll: it‘s all there.
Franzen writes about a real unrealistic dysfunctional family but it was so fun to spend some time with them - despite their crises.

I am sorry it took so long to pick it up Helen, I really enjoyed it 💕

I loved it! I feel like the last hundred pages dragged on, and the ending seemed random, but I really liked it!
⭐️: 4/5

To the surprise of everyone - even me - I ended up not hating this book. Low pick, because I was interested in the story and characters, but he took forever to get there. The man can write, though.

The first book in a planned trilogy, this is the story of the Hildebrandt family across several generations. Told from the viewpoints of each member of the family, it charts the moral quandaries, doubts, and hubris that leads to a crisis point. ⬇️

Halfway through, and I'm not entirely sure what I think of it yet.
I AM highly amused that this is the first in a planned trilogy. A trilogy titled "The Keys to All Mythologies," which is the title of Casaubon's laborious tome in Middlemarch, which, weirdly and entirely coincidentally, I am also currently reading (a chapter a day with the #Pemberlittens)

We're giving this a go this weekend

A compulsive read. Franzen does dysfunctional families well. I enjoyed the propulsive writing, sense of humour & the depth of characters with their flaws & attempts to redeem themselves. The prose is rich, knowing & textured but focuses on story & characters rather than feeling showy. The addiction parts had echoes of DFW (but doesn‘t soar like his work). A white perspective on religion & Native American issues. I didn‘t warm to the family.

It started well but it was unevenly paced and too long. Why are books not edited better these days?
The chapter devoted to describing Marion‘s descent into mental illness was way too much and too long again.
I feel that if it had been tidied up and condensed with a thorough editing it could have shone. But for me it just dragged on and by the end I was skipping pages. Glad it‘s over tbh.
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#franzen #crossroads #modernliterature

The characters are so well drawn and I‘m totally hooked. Has anyone else loved this? Feels like a real return to form. #franzen #crossroads #booklover

Just starting this bad boy

I am glad I flipped to a physical book instead of e-book to read this. It is the first in a trilogy. Now I‘m eagerly waiting for #2! The characters are relatable — complicated with good, bad, & annoying characteristics in each.

It started making sense at page 53 but by then I was too frustrated. Bail.

Unlike all the other novels of his I've read; very focused and way less of him showing off what a great writer he is. Truth is I loved freedom best - it was all over the place and every sentence felt like franzen saying LOOK HOW GREAT MY WRITING IS. I did like this though, and I will read parts 2 and 3 when they come out (though it will take him at least a decade to write them).

Mixed feelings on this one. This was my first Franzen, though I am familiar with his books by reputation. If you prefer a book with forward moving plot and a conclusive ending, this isn‘t the book for you. If you‘re looking for richly drawn characters with deep backstories, who are struggling with moral ambiguity, mental illness, temptation, crises of faith, and complicated relationships, then you might love this book. 👇🏼

This wordy volume presents many interesting ideas for contemplation, but one can‘t help but wonder if it would be more effective as a collection of short stories. This is my first reading of Franzen, and I listened to it via audio instead of reading it, and I‘m always curious how that changes my perception of a book. Even at this length, it did hold my interest; I just think he could have done so as efficiently with fewer words.

So it seems that people either love or hate Johnathan Franzen & feel similarly toward his books. That said I think the book was worth the time invested. It's a pick if you don't mind JF. If you don't like him, this won't change your mind. It's still very Franzen-y.

I'm going to put this on my #ChunksterChallenge2022 list also! Nearly 600 pages and it's the start of a trilogy! I guess that makes it a #SeriesRead2022 also!
@Amiable
@TheSpineView

1. This weekend I'm working on finishing up Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen.

2. I almost never go to the library anymore. (Is that sad?) I put the books I want on hold and my husband, who works at the library, picks them up for me. It's a good system that always leaves me overwhelmed in books!

3. the last disc of season 2 of Succession! Woot!

#WeekendReads
@rachelsbrittain

The quote from Tolstoy about unhappy families being unhappy in their own way really applies to this family, the Hildebrandts .Set in 1971 , assistant pastor Russ is lusting after a widow in the church group, his wife is remembering her difficult past pre marriage, which she never explained to her husband.The kids are struggling,sex,drugs, the possibility of Vietnam for the oldest. Franzen says this is part of a trilogy.There was one part thought⬇️

#unpopularopinion
I think this book is phony. Very little rings true for me. I'm not convinced Franzen has ever truly known a woman, let alone a member of a clergy family & his lack of insight in describing his characters' experience of the divine was marked. Even the set up was weak - every member of the family (other than the 9 year old) at a crisis point on the same day? Really? It was a book group choice or I would have bailed. 👇

Time to start this via audio.

This was engrossing and compelling. The characters were beautifully crafted. The 1970s setting was so credible. I loved my immersion into the complicated flawed lives of the family and the resonances between their lives and the big issues of the time- war, religion, sexual liberation and drugs. Whilst they have not become friends exactly I do want to know what happens next and how if at all they resolve their demons. Roll on part 2.

It‘s a very long time since I read franzen. I loved The Corrections but nothing else really appealed. Then in the Waterstones hardback sale I chose this. After a slow start I am loving it. Only problem is it‘s too heavy to carry on my commute!

I can‘t seem to resist Franzen even though he, in turn, enthralls, disgusts, fascinates, and annoys me.

So I start reading, is this going to be too churchy , too preachy ..😬my interest is wavering..🙄get to around page 85 , it just clicks & there comes the razor sharp caustic descriptions of a middle class 1970s family on the cusp of implosion!Oh,Franzen!😀

The sky broken by the bare oaks and elms of New Prospect was full of moist promise, a pair of frontal systems grayly colluding to deliver a white Christmas, when Russ Hildebrandt made his morning rounds among the homes of the bedridden and senile parishioners in his Plymouth Fury wagon.

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

Another epic from Franzen, this one about the Hildebrandt family in the 70s. Russ and Marion have 4 children: Clem, Becky, Perry, and Judson. Each (minus the youngest, Judson) has their own involved stories with themes of war, mental illness, faith and religion, faithfulness, addiction, and ultimately, with each story, finding one‘s place in the world.
No one writes characters like Franzen. I can‘t wait to see what unfolds with the planned series.

Spent my morning organizing some reading lists, starting my 2022 list of titles I‘ve read, and started the Franzen. With the help of some hot tea ☕️ 🕯

#WeekendReading After doing some cleaning & fixing at moms rental , the only thing I‘m good for tonight is reading or film. I‘m reading Libertie my #bookspin Crusades for Justice my #doublespin and trying to get back to the Franzen .I loved his book , The Corrections, wish I was as drawn to this one.

“I don‘t deserve joy!”
“No one does. It‘s a gift from God.”

I really enjoyed this one. It's my first time reading Jonathan Franzen, and I'm so glad I picked it up. His characters are so real. This family will stay with me.

My expression while listening to most of this book: 😒

Don‘t get me wrong, the writing is really great (if a bit long-winded) and the author really gets in to the messiness of family, religion, mental health, and other complex issues, but it‘s hard to call a book a pick when I didn‘t like most of the characters and outright loathed two of them.

Did not help that it‘s narrated by David Pittu, who I apparently can‘t hang with.

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

My daughters and I decided to make the drive and hit up B&N's 50% off hardcovers sale. It was pretty picked over by the time we got there yesterday afternoon, but we still walked away with a few good ones and had a fun day together ❤.

"Luckier snowflakes were blindly evading the Fury while others met their end on the windshield."

I just love the way Franzen constructs his sentences, the way he makes you look at something in a whole different way. This sentence is very creative.

Merry bookmas, chunkster edition! 📚🎄

My mom did a good job this year - these were all on my list. Especially happy to get the Ozeki for #TOB22.

[Last night]
Merry Christmas!

@Skeebies05 Amazing!!! You really went above and beyond this year! Thank you so much and hope your Christmas is Merry and Bright ❤️🎄

@bridge12 You knocked it out of the park!! I'm so excited to read Crossroads and the candy specifically from Kansas City looks awesome! Also - the card 😂

#jolabokaflodswap is always so much fun!

Thanks again @MaleficentBookDragon
#jolabokaflod

Thank you lovely friends for gifts and cards- Cindy, Cathy, Helen, Katie and Jess.
I love all these and thank you for continuing friendships and book-talks ❤️❤️

This is much more engaging and compelling than The Corrections, which I wasn‘t as enthusiastic about as the critics apparently were. I hesitated to begin another of his novels but find myself enjoying the story of all the crossroads encountered by the family of Russ Hildebrandt, associate pastor of First Reformed Church in a Chicago suburb in the early seventies.

It took me more than a month to finish reading this massive book (580 pages) and Mr. Franzen delivers his story magnanimously. Like his previous novel, The Corrections, which I have loved, Crossroads is an exploration of fractured family dynamics, spiritual and religious tensions, infidelity, jealousy, 👇

I thought I would have enjoyed this book more than I actually did. I felt it‘s heaviness, both physically and emotionally but I grew restless with the religious aspects & loquaciousness of the author. Franzen crafted some really interesting characters, I loved Marion (until the last 25 pages) but the book was about 200 pages too many for me. I‘m sure I‘ll pick up the next book (FoMo), but hoping it‘s less of a tome. #ToBLongList

Woohoo 🙌🏻 Finally, Marion #PREACH ❣️❣️I‘ve been waiting for this book to start moving and now on page 366, I feel the beginnings of a great story 📚 Up until this point, I‘ve felt like this novel was a bit of a slough. I‘m here for it, Pastor Russ Hildebrandt is a total A-hole( nicest word I could think of). Hope the next 200 pages don‘t disappoint.

Gosh I loved this! A complex look at a family at a crisis point, with the vivid characters that we have come to expect from Franzen. It weighs in at about 600 pages, but never feels bloated or unwieldy. Every one of the 600 pages are essential. There is a lot of talk about faith and goodness and I admired the respect that Franzen showed for those with strong Christian faith, those with none, and everyone in between.