Great Reads for Great Readers

 

Crossroads, by Jonathan Franzen.

 

   

          It is the end of 1971 and Pastor Russ Hildebrandt is a conflicted man:  he has been a faithful and devout Christian all his life (he is now 45), but God has lately been sending him challenges – and temptations, in the form of a comely, recently widowed parishioner who displays a vulnerability that touches his heart, something his wife has not done for many years.

            He has also fallen out with Rick, one of his assistant pastors who runs ‘Crossroads’, the youth section of the Parish;  Rick has long hair, eyes like burning blackcurrants and a newly fashionable foul mouth, but is majorly successful at spreading the word of God to young people searching for answers to life’s big questions – ‘he’s SO cool, man!’  Whereas Russ is not:  he’s totally not cool, and embarrasses his children if he turns up at Crossroads meetings and takes over the prayer sessions in an attempt to assert his seniority. 

            Yes, there are aspects of his calling that are less than satisfactory, but his home life gives him no pleasure at all;  his wife Marion – who runs his house, mothers their four children and writes his sermons – has gained a huge amount of weight and is succumbing to a distressing mental instability, caused not least because she misrepresented herself to Russ when they first met;  now her secrets are causing her to unravel.  His children, three of whom are teenagers, have their own problems and insecurities to deal with, in fact Perry, aged 15, is working on a strong drug habit – but none of them would ever think of confiding in Russ or - God Forbid! -  being councilled by him.  They are all pretty much a mystery to him.

            Which means that celebrated author Jonathan Franzen has created the perfect straw man as his main character –BUT!  As each member of the family tells their side of the story, we are drawn inexorably into the Hildebrandt ethos:  which characters are justified in acting as they do, which ones are taking everyone else for a ride, and why.  The fight between Good and Evil, God, the Devil, and Temptation has never been told more cleverly, convincingly – or humorously.  Were we really like that back in the 70’s? 

Russ and his family have arrived at the Crossroads of their lives in a decade that contains Vietnam and the draft, and very little Peace and Love.  As this is the first book of a trilogy, I am looking forward to Mr Franzen showing us which direction they travelled.  FIVE STARS.