Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks
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Web ID: 6404753Native Encounters English Girl
I really enjoyed Brooks' "The People of the Book," "The Year of Wonders," and "March" (for which she won a Pulitzer) that I resolved to read in her back catalogue as well. "Caleb's Crossing" is one of her earlier works, and IMHO, was not quite as satisfying a read as the above-mentioned titles. It moves far more slowly; the writing device is the main character recounting the events in her journal, which placed a barrier between the writer and the reader, IMHO. It is based on the true story of Caleb Cheeshahteaumauk, one of the first Natives to graduate from Harvard. Bethia Mayfield is a Puritan girl who lives w/ her family on a small farm on the island that will become Martha's Vineyard. She has a quick mind and a facility for languages. She listens as her brother struggles through his Latin lessons, and she her and late twin brother had learned a little Wampanoag, the local Indian language, using it as their "secret" communication. Her grandfather is a businessman and owns much of the island, having actually paid the Indian occupants for the land. Her father is a minister, w/ a special burden of converting the island's Indians to Christianity. The local papaaws - the Indian holy men/medicine men - are quite opposed to this, of course. Bethia is out for a ride one day, after her father criticized her wish for more education, on a different part of the island from normal, and encounters an Indian boy about her same age. Shocking the native boy w/ her ability to speak Wampanoag, Bethia and the boy she names Caleb become friends. She teaches Caleb English, and he teaches her about nature and uses of the flora and fauna on the island. They have long discussions about their differing religious beliefs. The plot follows Caleb and Bethia as they grow up, each undergoing profound changes in their lives, as Bethia's brother and Caleb both move to Cambridge to attend Harvard College. Does Bethia follow them, or does she stay on the island? Can Caleb keep up w/ the English boys in learning Latin, Greek, and Hebrew? What does Bethia's future hold: marriage and children, or the pursuit of learning? Again, I thought the story was slow, and don't like how the book skipped from Bethia as a young girl to an aged crone for Part III, leaving us wondering about all the decades in between Part II and Part III. Brooks' writing earns a rating in the mid 4's, which rounds up to 5 stars.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Engaging Read!
This is a beautifully written story that examines the historical choices we as a nation have made.....and the consequences of those choices. I love the command of language and imagery that Geraldine Brooks displays in all her books! Great read for Book Clubs!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com