If you liked
Books like Crossroads
by Jonathan Franzen
Crossroads is Jonathan Franzen's warmest novel, following a Midwestern pastor's family through one fraught winter in 1971 as faith, desire and ambition pull them in different directions. It is the first of a planned trilogy. If you want more big, humane novels about family and belief, these are the reads.
The shortlist
What to read next
The Correctionsby Jonathan Franzen
“The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen 2001 review. A Midwestern family gathers for one last Christmas as the patriarch slips into Parkinson's-related dementia. National Book Award 2001 and the canonical American family novel of its decade.”
Gileadby Marilynne Robinson
“Gilead by Marilynne Robinson 2004 review. A seventy-six-year-old Iowa Congregationalist minister writes a letter to his seven-year-old son. Pulitzer Prize winner.”
A Prayer for Owen Meanyby John Irving
“A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving 1989 review. Johnny Wheelwright narrates his friendship with Owen Meany, a tiny child convinced he is God's instrument, across decades. Irving's canonical work.”
The Dutch Houseby Ann Patchett
“The Dutch House by Ann Patchett 2019 review. A brother and sister exiled from their childhood home park on the curb across the street for fifty years. Pulitzer Prize finalist.”
Olive Kitteridgeby Elizabeth Strout
“Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout 2008 review. A retired Maine math teacher across thirteen interlinked stories. Pulitzer Prize 2009 and canonical contemporary American interconnected-novels project.”
Hello Beautifulby Ann Napolitano
“Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano 2023 review. Four sisters in 1980s Chicago and the graduate-student basketball player who marries into the family. Napolitano's breakout literary commercial novel.”
FAQ
Common questions about Crossroads read-alikes
- I want more Jonathan Franzen.
- The Corrections is the essential one, his breakout about a Midwestern family circling one last Christmas, sharper and more acid than Crossroads. If the family dynamics hooked you, that is the next Franzen to read.
- I want another serious novel about faith.
- Gilead by Marilynne Robinson, a dying pastor's luminous letter to his son, and A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving both take religion as seriously as Crossroads does. Both are the natural companions for its spiritual questions.
- I want the warm family novel without the theology.
- The Dutch House by Ann Patchett and Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano both find enormous feeling in ordinary family life. Gentler than Franzen, but they share the deep attention to how relatives shape each other.
- I want quiet, precise fiction about a whole community.
- Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout builds a life and a town from linked stories and won the Pulitzer. A good pick if you loved how Crossroads moves between the members of one family.
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