This is approximately a year in the life of the Hildebrandt family in the early 70’s. Father Russ is a minister at a nondenominational church in suburban Chicago. He is unhappy about his marriage and his role in the church. Mother Marion has a secret past that is catching up with her psychologically. They have four children-Clem, Becky, Perry and Judson. Clem is in a relationship at the University of Illinois and is toying with the idea of enlisting. Becky is pretty, popular and heavily into Christianity. Perry is a drug dealer and user. and Judson is an obedient, happy young boy-as of now.

Jonathan Franzen is not for everyone, but I think he’s a terrific writer. He has a way of making his readers uncomfortable, yet they still have the strong urge to continue reading. Crossroads is the first of a trilogy. I’m looking forward to reading the next two novels about this extremely interesting family.