Caleb's Crossing: A Novel
A bestselling tale of passion and belief, magic and adventure from the author of The Secret Chord and of March, winner of the Pulitzer Prize. Bethia Mayfield is a restless and curious young woman growing up in Martha's vineyard in the 1660s amid a small band of pioneering English Puritans. At age twelve, she meets Caleb, the young son of a chieftain, and the two forge a secret bond that draws each into the alien world of the other. Bethia's father is a Calvinist minister who seeks to convert the native Wampanoag, and Caleb becomes a prize in the contest between old ways and new, eventually becoming the first Native American graduate of Harvard College. Inspired by a true story and narrated by the irresistible Bethia, Caleb's Crossing brilliantly captures the triumphs and turmoil of two brave, openhearted spirits who risk everything in a search for knowledge at a time of superstition and ignorance.
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Community Reviews
I kept delaying reading this book, as I had others I needed to read first. But when I finally started it, I almost sent it back to the library, as it felt like I landed in the story mid-plot. I did stick with it, and found the plot device the author was executing put the near-ending first, then built the back story to get to that point and resolve the episode. But yes, it was pretty annoying, as she did this three times to tell the story. On a positive note, I was interested in the real person, Caleb, who became one of the first native Americans to graduate from Harvard in the 1660’s. But was saddened about the promise of education not being realized. It was a very dark-spirited story about the clash of cultures, and assimilation gone wrong. And just felt it was a little slow-moving and contrived. Needed a more uplifting read, maybe. The use of language idioms and conventions of the times didn’t bother me, like it did other readers. So what? People expressed themselves differently in Puritan America, and the vocabulary style lent authenticity to the story. But overall, the story was pretty dire, and just won’t stick with me.
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