Russ attends the trip as a chaperon, as does Frances, with whom he has recently smoked pot for the first time. Crossroads takes its annual service trip to Arizona, where Russ has connections with the Navajo community dating back to his alternative service in Arizona as a conscientious objector during World War II. The second section, 'Easter,' begins in the spring of 1972. These episodes took place in Los Angeles shortly before she met Russ, and Marion has hidden them from her family, despite her concern for Perry's mental stability. Meanwhile, Marion is surreptitiously attending therapy sessions, at which she recounts traumatic episodes from her past, including an affair with a married man named Bradley Grant and a subsequent psychiatric breakdown. Initially she attends Crossroads at the urging of Tanner Evans – 'a bell-bottomed dreamboat' and aspiring musician on whom she has a crush – but ultimately has a religious awakening of her own.Ĭlem, on the other hand, has had a sexual awakening, with his college girlfriend Sharon, but he decides to end the relationship, drop out of school, and forfeit his draft deferral in order to fight in the Vietnam War. She has also clashed with her parents over a $13,000 inheritance from her Aunt Shirley. Becky, a popular cheerleader, mistrusts Perry, though she is close with her elder brother, Clem. Precocious Perry has resolved to stop dealing pot and become a better person. Russ has been forced out of Crossroads, the popular youth group he founded at the Church, in favor of Rick's more popular – and less liturgical – style of leadership.īoth Perry and Becky have recently joined Crossroads. Russ, an associate minister at First Reformed Church, flirts with a young widow, Frances Cottrell, and stews over his rivalry with the charismatic Rick Ambrose. The first section, 'Advent,' takes place in the winter of 1971. Each chapter is told from the perspective of one of the Hildebrandts, and most are set in the fictional New Prospect Township of suburban Chicago. Franzen intends the trilogy to 'span three generations and trace the inner life of our culture through the present day.' Plot Ĭrossroads follows Russ and Marion Hildebrandt, whose marriage is close to collapse, and their four children, Clem, Becky, Perry, and Judson. The novel is the first volume in a projected trilogy titled A Key to All Mythologies.

It was first announced on November 13, 2020, by Franzen's publisher Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

It is a family saga set during the 1970s and centers on the Hildebrandt family in the fictional small town of New Prospect, Illinois. Crossroads: A Novel is the sixth novel by American author Jonathan Franzen, published on October 5, 2021.

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