Caleb's Crossing

A Novel

By: Geraldine Brooks

Narrated by: Jennifer Ehle

Length: 12 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

A richly imagined new novel from the author of the New York Times best seller People of the Book. Once again, Geraldine Brooks takes a remarkable shard of history and brings it to vivid life.

In 1665, a young man from Martha's Vineyard became the first Native American to graduate from Harvard College. Upon this slender factual scaffold, Brooks has created a luminous tale of love and faith, magic and adventure. The narrator of Caleb's Crossing is Bethia Mayfield, growing up in the tiny settlement of Great Harbor amid a small band of pioneers and Puritans. Restless and curious, she yearns after an education that is closed to her by her sex. As often as she can, she slips away to explore the island's glistening beaches and observe its native Wampanoag inhabitants. At 12, she encounters Caleb, the young son of a chieftain, and the two forge a tentative secret friendship that draws each into the alien world of the other. Bethia's minister father tries to convert the Wampanoag, awakening the wrath of the tribe's shaman, against whose magic he must test his own beliefs. One of his projects becomes the education of Caleb, and a year later, Caleb is in Cambridge, studying Latin and Greek among the colonial elite. There, Bethia finds herself reluctantly indentured as a housekeeper and can closely observe Caleb's crossing of cultures.

Like Brooks' beloved narrator Anna in Year of Wonders, Bethia proves an emotionally irresistible guide to the wilds of Martha's Vineyard and the intimate spaces of the human heart. Evocative and utterly absorbing, Caleb's Crossing further establishes Brooks's place as one of our most acclaimed novelists.

©2011 Geraldine Brooks (P)2011 Penguin

Critic reviews

“Caleb’s Crossing could not be more enlightening and involving. Beautifully written from beginning to end, it reconfirms Geraldine Brooks’ reputation as one of our most supple and involving novelists.” (Jane Smiley, The New York Times Book Review)

“Brooks filters the early colonial era through the eyes of a minister’s daughter growing up on the island known today as Martha’s Vineyard…[Bethia’s] voice - rendered by Brooks with exacting attention to the language and rhythm of the 17th century - is captivatingly true to her time.” (The New Yorker)

“A dazzling act of the imagination. . .Brooks takes the few known facts about the real Caleb, and builds them into a beautifully realized and thoroughly readable tale…this is intimate historical fiction, observing even the most acute sufferings and smallest heroic gestures in the context of major events.” (Matthew Gilbert, The Boston Globe)

Good story, LOUSY reader

Would you try another book from Geraldine Brooks and/or Jennifer Ehle?

I might try another historical fiction by Brooks, but I would never listen to another book read by Jennifer Ehle. It was stilted, no expression, and took away from the story.

What didn’t you like about Jennifer Ehle’s performance?

It was stilted, no expression, and took away from the story.

Also Bethia’s Crossing

I started out not liking this book because I could not stand the way Bethia was treated. I ended up liking the story, though, once I started to care about the characters, and especially Bethia. She stood her ground the only way she could in the 1660s without finding herself removed from the community or worse! I admire her strength and ingenuity.

The book is much more about Bethia than it is about Caleb, but he also was a strong character who stood his ground in the best way he knew how. That must be why they remained friends for so long.

Narrator Jennifer Ehle was great, although the pronunciation of the article “a” as a long vowel started to wear on me after a while. I assume she did it that way because that was the way it was pronounced in the 1660s which is fine, but still annoying to the modern ear. Both author and narrator did a great job of handling the older forms of English. That part was very interesting to me.

Superb

A powerful tale, beautifully told. A new perspective on White and Indian lives. I hope to read more.

Historical gem

An exceptional historical novel. The accounting of the 1600s in NewEngland was revealing and educational. Geraldine Brooks is a masterful writer.

One of my favorite authors ever

Any additional comments?

I love historical fiction, and Geraldine Brooks is among my favorite. Not only does she breathe life into a time in history, but there are always two themes in her stories that I find fascinating: the role of women and the role of religion in society. Well done!

Historical truth with a soul.

If you could sum up Caleb's Crossing in three words, what would they be?

Beautiful Word Tapestry

What other book might you compare Caleb's Crossing to and why?

The Help. Historical story with a soul.

Which character – as performed by Jennifer Ehle – was your favorite?

All of them but if I had to choose Bethea

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Thoughtful wonder leading to tearful and heart wrenching realizations

Any additional comments?

I am so impressed with the writing and the storyline that I am going to purchase the hard copy of this book for future reference.

Beautiful writing, discouraging performance...

Geraldine Brooks' novel is based on a true story of the first Native American man to graduate from Harvard University. It is set in Cambridge and Martha's Vineyard in the late 17th century and is rich in meticulous historical detail. Some readers found the speech, authentic to the era, difficult but I loved it. The story itself is about Bethia Mayfield, a young woman who befriends the Wompanoag man, Caleb, and who longs for an education that is denied her at the time.

I loved the historical detail and the language however I did find some of the plot shifts rather forced and some of the characters underwent personality changes or no apparent reason that seemed a bit jarring. The narration, however, was very trying. I have admired Jennifer Ehle as an actress in "Pride and Prejudice" and "Possession" but her narration of this story was so annoying I finally gave up listening and read the latter half of the book. She takes such care to enunciate each word that the narration sounds clipped and choppy. This is a book that is better reading than listening to.

Good Book - Wrong Title

I really enjoyed this book. Brooks' prose is beautiful, especially her descriptions of "the Island," which Bethia clearly loved. I really enjoyed and was able to understand the use of archaic American English which in my opinion added greatly to the story. Though some critics have complained about the language and the narrator's performance, I found both to be very effective. I'm not an expert on early American language or pronunciation, but it sounded "right" to me. I found myself wishing that I had the ability and language tools to express myself so meticulously and precisely and I wondered how Brooks learned the language of 17th century America.

This is Bethia's story, not Caleb's. Told in 1st person from Bethia's point of view, we never get inside Caleb's head; we see how various happenings affect him, but don't get a feeling for his experience of them. He's totally missing from many parts of the book. The story of how the early European Americans interacted with the native American population and what effects this had on both is a good framework for this book, but the title is misleading.

Superb historical novel

This story, masterfully crafted, tells a story about a time in history which is misunderstood. Told through the experience of a young woman in early colonial times and her friendship with a young native of Martha's Vineyard, it offers a fascinating perspective of the relationship between the two cultures. Descriptions about daily life are painted in such artful detail one can feel immersed in the time and place.

The narration was great!

Any additional comments?

The story was very intriguing. Contrary to the many negative comments about Jennifer Ehle's performance, I thought it was perfectly narrated to convey that she was reading from a diary of events. I definitely enjoyed this book.