Monday, January 5, 2015

Review: Caleb's Crossing

Caleb's Crossing
By Geraldine Brooks
Viking May 2011
306 pages
From my shelves


Caleb's Crossing

In 1665, a man from the Wampanoag tribe became the first Native American graduate of Harvard College. That is the only record that history leaves us about this person. But Geraldine Brooks has taken this tiny piece of history and created a rich story. Our narrator is Bethia Mayfield, a girl who is growing up as the daughter of a Puritan minister. As she wanders around their island home, searching for knowledge and freedom, she becomes friends with Caleb from the Wampanoag tribe. Although their lives look radically different, they find parallels in their struggles between a thirst for knowledge and a respect for tradition, and the pull of their families and the need for freedom.

It is no surprise to anyone who reads this blog that I am a huge fan of Geraldine Brooks and her historical fiction. She took readers back to 1665 and a small village that quarantined itself to prevent the plague from spreading in Year of Wonders. People of the Book had us imagining the origins of the Sarajevo Haggadah and March threw everything we thought we knew about our beloved Jo, Amy, Beth, Meg, and their parents right out the window. Ms. Brooks has a gift for fully inhabiting a time period and a set of characters, even if she is working from just one letter or historical document. I was equally excited and apprehensive to read Caleb's Crossing, because it is the last novel by Brooks that I had to read. 

By telling Caleb's story through Bethia's eyes, we get to see twice what it means to be a second-class citizen. Both characters are seen as less-than, as an other in a society that gave respect based on your heritage as a white man. This is especially frustrating when Bethia and Caleb are contrasted with Bethia's brother, Makepeace. He gets every opportunity simply because he is a white male, although he is the least intelligent of the three. 

Perhaps the trouble with this novel is that Brooks is true to her time period. As modern readers, we can see the potential of both Caleb and Bethia. But we know, as they do, that they are ultimately destined to live and die within the cruel constraints of their time and place. As we reach the end of the book and Bethia looks back at her decisions and the sacrifices she made, she almost has no choice but to be grateful. What else can she do as a woman of the 17th century? 

I enjoyed reading Caleb's Crossing. As usual, Ms. Brooks brings history to vivid life and makes readers think about the differences between the past and the present. But it took me a while to really care for these characters. Readers new to Brooks' novels would be better off starting with one of her earlier novels. 

12 comments:

  1. Me too--it's good, but not my favorite Brooks book.You are getting lots of reviews written. Good for you!

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    1. I'm glad I read it but I'm hoping she will write a new one soon!

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  2. I've never read Geraldine Brooks. Which book of hers is your favorite?

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    1. People of the Book! It follows a sacred Jewish text through its various owners.

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    1. It's beautiful. Brooks does such a great job of making you feel like you are on the island with the characters.

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  4. I've only read one of her books, Year of Wonders, but I looooved it. I really need to try more.

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  5. I loved Year of Wonders and March -- why have I not read this yet? :)

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    1. You were just waiting for me to remind you, right? :)

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  6. Ooh I hadn't heard about this one! I love Geraldine Brooks (although I'll admit that I had a really hard time with March and ended up putting it down for a while. I'll probably give it another go this year sometime). This sounds super interesting, so hopefully my library has a copy!

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    1. It's interesting because this is her most recent book but it's the one I hear about the least. I will be interested to hear what you think!

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