Readers of fiction written by Geraldine Brooks always discover interesting details of the history of some part of the world. Caleb may be a Biblical name, but it was given to this Caleb by a Puritan, Calvanistic missionary, not by his parents. The setting is the east coast of North America in the seventeenth century.
In 1665, a young man from what is now Martha’s Vineyard became the first Native American to graduate from Harvard College. His was the son of a chieftain of the Wompanoag. The young daughter of the charismatic missionary from whose perspective the book is written is a female in a patriarchal society. Women must provide, men and boys must be educated. At twelve, she encounters the young son of a chieftain, who will be later known as Caleb, and the two forge a tentative, secret friendship that draws each into the alien world of the other. As often as she can, she slips away to explore the island’s glistening beaches and observe its native Wampanoag inhabitants. Bethia’s minister father tries to convert the Wampanoag, awakening the wrath of the island’s strongest pawaaw, against whose ritual magic he must test his own beliefs.
In a journal written on scraps of paper, Bethia records her internal conflicts. How can she teach herself to exist within the narrow confines of the lives women in her world are expected to lead? Her quick mind seeks the knowledge that is imparted to her brother. Her domestic responsibilities are unreasonable, but she is loyal.
The triumph of “Caleb’s Crossing” is that Bethia succeeds as a convincing woman of her time, and also in communicating across centuries of change in circumstance, custom and language. She tells a story that is suspenseful and involving. It is also a story that is tragically recognizable and deeply sad.
I found the beginning of the book contrived. However, once connected with Harvard’s history, found it a worthwhile read.
Reviewed by Gayle Davidson
Odell Learning Resources Centre
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