TomorrowTalks with Jonathan Franzen: Crossroads

Arizona State University welcomes celebrated novelist Jonathan Franzen as a guest in its TomorrowTalks series. Franzen will discuss his book, "Crossroads" in an online event on Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022 at 6 p.m. Arizona / MST (6 p.m. PDT / 7 p.m. MDT / 8 p.m. CDT / 9 p.m. EDT). The conversation will be facilitated by ASU fiction writer Matt Bell, a professor of English and author of the cli-fi novel, “Appleseed.”

About the book
In “Crossroads,” Jonathan Franzen explores the history of two generations. A tour de force of interwoven perspectives and sustained suspense, its action largely unfolding on a single winter day, “Crossroads” is the story of a Midwestern family at a pivotal moment of moral crisis. Franzen’s gift for wedding depth and vividness of character with breadth of social vision has never been more dazzlingly evident.

"A mellow, marzipan-hued ’70s-era heartbreaker," said The New York Times. "'Crossroads' is warmer than anything [Franzen has] yet written, wider in its human sympathies, weightier of image and intellect."

About Jonathan Franzen
Jonathan Franzen’s novels are celebrated for their unforgettably vivid characters and for their keen-eyed take on contemporary America. Franzen is the author of five novels, including “The Corrections” (winner of the National Book Award) “Freedom,” and “Crossroads,” and five works of nonfiction, most recently “Farther Away” and “The End of the End of the Earth.” He lives in Santa Cruz, California.

About the series
TomorrowTalks place thought leaders of today in conversation with the changemakers of tomorrow: our students. Each distinguished speaker will explain how they use writing to address our most pressing challenges. This year, the series talks with trailblazers; in addition to Franzen, speakers include Jocelyn Nicole Johnson (Oct. 13), Percival Everett (Nov. 3), and Jemele Hill (Jan. 26).

TomorrowTalks are a student-engagement initiative led by the Division of Humanities in The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at ASU and hosted by ASU's Department of English in partnership with Macmillan Publishers.