Jonathan Franzen: Crossroads - In conversation with Wyatt Mason

Jonathan Franzen-award-winning author of The Corrections, Freedom and Purity-returns with a much-anticipated new novel, Crossroads, a sweeping look at the country’s shifting culture as told through the experiences of a Midwestern family in crisis one winter’s day in the early 1970s.
“As complications stack up for the Hildebrandts, they each confront temptation and epiphany, failure and love,” writes Publishers Weekly. “Throughout, Franzen exhibits his remarkable ability to build suspense through fraught interpersonal dynamics. It’s irresistible.”

[@Lukas-wx9yu]

Very interesting talk. I loved Crossroads, on a same level with the Corrections, and even a bit better than Freedom in my opinion. As a German who loves his writing, it's interesting to hear that he has similar feelings for the german language.

[@phoenixzappa7366]

Freedom > The Corrections

[@electrodynamicorb6548]

I like the part where they never talk about crossroads.

[@SymbolsPatternsGnosis]

Delt A Blues clue

[@AntiPlatitude]

Definitely thought this was William H. Macy based on the thumbnail

[@daheikkinen]

This novel receives a C+ grade

[@SymbolsPatternsGnosis]

Eye C what you did there.

[@suschords]

The host didn’t seem like he was having much fun

[@TheNewYorker360]

When Norman Mailer was asked his opinion of Jonathan Franzen, he said, "Well, I've read him, and I'll tell you, I got exactly the same impression from his writing as I did from reading Thomas Pynchon. And that is: he is either a great writer, or he has perpetrated one of the greatest literary frauds in history. That's how I feel about him. As I said, I felt the same way when reading Pynchon. And I admit it: I can't tell whether it's great writing or he's an absolute literary fraud. I would lean toward the latter explanation. But I just don't know." end

[@seanamc]

Wtf does that even mean?

[@domepiece79]

Coming from Mailer, a wife-stabbing hack who never write a single truly great novel, I’d almost take that as praise

[@eerotalo4503]

complex syntax is thick beauty -- Wyatt Mason likes fat girls -- so did Wallace Stevens -- while Johnathan Franzen likes skinny women -- the rest is pussyfooting -- the fixation in American fiction with economically spare sentences, mature sentences, essentials, austerity! dammit! it's just about the same old beauty, skinny dyings -- but Wyatt Mason correctly gestures to the disavowed aesthetic -- ohh! to think such brilliant critical effort can be wasted on the sophistry of this dumbass F -- but I do so enjoy their exchange, the syntax of the critic never falters, it's a real balance beam performance... i only wish evasion could be captured in an essay, the impediment to criticism almost says more than a polished essay on this type of novel could at this point

[@Cuyt24]

Purity was garbage. All the characters were terrible and had so many cringe and embarrassing lines. Crossroads was good. Russ was deeply unlikable, but he got better. Clem was a terrible character. He would have been better if he was a Nixon voter.

[@Cuyt24]

@@brucebobtrotter2170 That's because you have a double-digit IQ.

[@seanamc]

I didn’t mind Russ, although he was a bit pathetic in parts, but definitely got better as story went on. Really like Clem, Becky turned into a twat, but I suspect the idea is that she always was!

[@4000Wiggins]

Purity was a misfire, sure. But Crossroads, Freedom, and The Corrections were all superb.