Crossing California: A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Unflagging Creativity
Review: "Crossing California" helps define a five-star-worthy novel. Initially, though, it must be said that in writing it, Mr. Langer entered "The Breakfast Club" setting. By that I mean all the adults (but one) are dysfunctional, parenting messes, lacking insight and control -- all the ills of children are caused by the direct faults of the adults; meanwhile, the adolescents and teenagers are sexually precocious, steeped in marijuana and alcohol, and seem to have taken over the adult roles, adult insights, and adult control, yet somehow manage good grades and test scores.
Similarly, adult institutions are nearly complete failures -- schools, synagogues and even radio stations. As to the Rogers Park setting, readers must wonder what in the world happened to the author as he grew up in that area that caused him to paint it in his book with such general disdain.
That being said, however, Mr. Langer made his choices as the writer. He risked a cliched book, but the opposite came true. There is an understated, yet atomic energy to his writing. As a result, even with "Breakfast Club" characters to start with, he brings fascinating change and development to all of them, sometimes for the better, to differing degrees. The humor and irony never flags. Mr. Langer's originality and amazing exchanges among his characters fascinates to the end. Whereas many authors set their novels in particularly well-known neighborhoods in a two-dimensional fashion, Rogers Park in this book lives as an integral character within the story.
Quite frankly, the overall negative tone of Rogers Park is refreshing when compared to a recent spate of retrospectives on the neighborhood that view it through myopic, rose-colored glasses. Likewise, Mr. Langer ingeniously uses events from 1979 to 1981 to enhance the stories within the book, and does so in a skewered, delightful fashion.
"Crossing California" deserves its success. Mr. Langer made his choices in character and theme, and ran with it strongly from beginning to end.

Rating:
Summary: Needs more
Review: As a native Chicago suburbanite, I believe this book does portray the late-70s there quite well. As an avid and experienced reader, by about page 390 it dawned on me that the book had become shallow and even quite vulgar. The author's fixation with tawdry areas of teenage lives became quite taxing, and even boring through repetition. I so enjoyed going back in time and place to my hometown area through fiction, but ultimately was disappointed by a pretty meaningless read.

Rating:
Summary: Simply Great
Review: Engaging, witty , original, touching and funny, Adam Langer's book about five Jewish teens growing up in Chicago in the late seventies has moved to the front of the pack as one of the best books of the year. One of the things I loved so much about this book is that these kids, and their parents are presented without apologies. Some of their actions and reactions are simply hateful, but at the same time very real and terribly funny. To top it off, there is a funny and informative glossary of Jewish terms for anyone who thinks a goyim is a part of the human anatomy.

Rating:
Summary: good debut novel
Review: I enjoyed Adam Langer's CROSSING CALIFORNIA, although it's slightly too long and not all the characters are equally interesting. Set in the late Carter/early Reagan era in Chicago, several characters from three families are overlapped in a number of storylines...Langer's greatest achievement is with the child characters, who are all rendered with great humor and compassion. My favorite was the smart-ass Michelle Wasserstrom, who overachieves despite herself and has most of the book's best lines. Also, I loved Muley Willis, the lovelorn filmmaker who is forced to grow up too fast.

"California" refers to a street in a heavily Jewish neighborhood of Chicago...socioeconmic status is conferred depending on which side of the street one lives on, but since all the characters are constantly interacting I lost track of what where everybody lived meant. Still, this is a big book, full of life, and obviously rendered with a great love of place and affection for this world. I await Langer's next book..... Recommended



Rating:
Summary: I don't get it!
Review: I had read that this book was supposed to be the "best summer fiction book of 2004". I was eagerly awaiting this highly touted book. What a disappointment! I tried at least three times to begin the book, hoping that i was missing something and hadn't given it enough attention...not the case...i just couldn't connect with the characters, or their self absorbed lives. I gave up. Definitely cannot recommend this one.

Rating:
Summary: Superlative!
Review: I read all genres and have different expectations for each. So I'm a snob but not a snob all at once. With that said, the best books I've read lately have been Americana period pieces but absolutely not dated in the least. Like this one by Adam Langer. Truly wonderful. Then after CROSSING CALIFORNIA, give your attention to Jennifer Paddock's novel A SECRET WORD (simply mesmerizing) and David Sedaris' memoir DRESS YOUR FAMILY IN CORDUROY AND DENIM (quirky wit in action).

Rating:
Summary: Not California, but Chicago
Review: I'll wager many will buy this book thinking it's going to be about California. Not. It's set in Chicago. But I'll also wager that they won't regret their purchase. Adam Langer's book is epic in its sprawl and its sometimes insane attention to detail and the minutiae of his characters' lives, but it spans a period of only 2-3 years (1979 - 1981). Focusing primarily on the members of 3 families who live on one side or another of California Ave, the street that divides a Jewish neighborhood into those of the upper middle class from those of the mostly working class, the book allows us to see all aspects of that important time in America's 20th century through the eyes of a group of teenagers who come together, drift apart, and come together again in a different mix.
Really, really, really, really good.

Rating:
Summary: Very Impressive
Review: I've rarely seen such impeccable character creation. It puts me in mind of Philip Roth. In Langer's case, plot is secondary; the motivation of the characters entirely propels the novel. It's a difficult book for me to review because the setting feels very familiar, having been raised in a largely Jewish community during the 70's and 80's (and, yes, I voted for John Anderson in my junior high's 1980 mock election). So, while I admit to overidentifying with the novel, I also greatly admire Langer's literary ease. I'm thrilled to find a new writer whose next work I can happily anticipate.

Rating:
Summary: a great read
Review: Langer has a suburb voice when it comes to describing characters, and his intertwining story of three families living in Rogers Park, IL is witty and sensitive. It's very sincere because Langer grew up in that area.

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable at first, disappointing in the end.
Review: Not generally a fiction fan, my interest in this book was peeked by the time period and Chicago setting. While I agree with other reviewers that the ending was most abrupt, I was ready for the book to end far sooner--all the gusto and interesting events occur in the beginning half of the book. While the characters are colorful, some sympathetic and others worthy of pity, I had a hard time buying just how oversexed and independent these kids are portrayed to be and generally thought this book would have been better placed in the 1990s or later. Character growth for the kids is good, although not for the adults, who often seem extraneous. I didn't learn much about the Chicago neighborhood circa 1979-81, but I did learn a lot of Jewish expressions.

It's a quick read, and thus enjoyable enough to rate 4 stars.