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Caleb's Crossing

Geraldine Brooks

Start date: December 15, 2012

Finish date: December 15, 2012

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Reading List

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What Members Thought

Dec 22, 2012 Jane rated it really liked it

I just finished Caleb's Crossing last night. Read with a readiness to find Bethia's character lacked credibility, but I didn't feel that way at all. "Too good to be true"? Definitely not. She is wracked by shame for her curiosity, for her "cruelty" to her brother. As 21st century readers, we find her curiosity and sensuality, her openness to new ideas and to Caleb refreshing, but not believable in a young girl from her century. What about Anne Bradstreet? The rebels, the Calebs who exist outside I just finished Caleb's Crossing last night. Read with a readiness to find Bethia's character lacked credibility, but I didn't feel that way at all. "Too good to be true"? Definitely not. She is wracked by shame for her curiosity, for her "cruelty" to her brother. As 21st century readers, we find her curiosity and sensuality, her openness to new ideas and to Caleb refreshing, but not believable in a young girl from her century. What about Anne Bradstreet? The rebels, the Calebs who exist outside the norms, make the most interesting characters in fiction. I loved the language; it felt consistent throughout. I grew up in a family where Latin was valued. My father was raised as the only son in a family of Catholic priests and nuns. He may have been the only child in a family of six. He was doted on, taught to read when he was four and moved up to second, then fourth grade, when he was six. Of course, he learned Latin. And in college he learned Greek. He would complete with a good friend to see who could write the best history notes in Greek. None of that seemed strange to me at all, although my own four years of Latin left me baffled. The only Latin activity I loved was translating Latin poetry into English. I could never remember which word went where when I translated Latin to English.

I do think that the romantic quality of the first section left me wanting Caleb and Bethia to be together. That's intentional. The love between them, as siblings or lovers, is so beautifully evoked. Caleb is Bethia's soulmate, no doubt about it. The prison of Harvard is palpable, and the fact that Bethia is near doesn't help much. I felt as though I were learning so much about both early acedemic and religious education in this country. I admire Brooks more with each book.

Recently I read some comments by Iris Murdoch who wanted something in her books for every reader. This may be what some have observed as Brooks' flaw. She writes a story. She gives the reader romantic hope. She writes so that the reader falls in love, or is pulling for characters. It isn't "distant," or "intellectual" writing in the same way that "The Sense of an Ending" is, but I find it equally satisfying and more satisfying than Murdoch. I am blown away by Brooks' sense of a culture and of history. If this isn't exactly true to history, I felt, every time I read another page, that it should be. She is utterly convincing.
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May 26, 2013 Val rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-novels

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Another book I have to make up my own ending for! Drats!

I loved the first 7/8's of this historical adventure set on the east coast of Massachusetts in the late 1600's. Our heroine, Bethia, is a puritan of sorts. Her father is a devout minister to their community on an island (now Martha's Vineyard) and has made it his mission to bring Christianity to the natives, the Wampanoag. Free spirited Bethia would rather ride her horse at break neck speed around the island in a totally unladylike manner a Another book I have to make up my own ending for! Drats!

I loved the first 7/8's of this historical adventure set on the east coast of Massachusetts in the late 1600's. Our heroine, Bethia, is a puritan of sorts. Her father is a devout minister to their community on an island (now Martha's Vineyard) and has made it his mission to bring Christianity to the natives, the Wampanoag. Free spirited Bethia would rather ride her horse at break neck speed around the island in a totally unladylike manner and listen in as her father teaches Wampanoag, Latin, Hebrew, and Greek. She is unable to study herself as an educated woman would only be a difficulty for her husband. But Bethia's quick mind and intense love of learning (opposite of her brother) drive her to find knowledge wherever she can get it.

One day on her wanderings around the island, she meets a young Wampanoag boy of her age and surprises him by being able to speak to him in his language. They become beloved friends, meeting daily and teaching each other their language. The boy, Caleb, as she names him (he calls her Storm Eyes) is so brilliant that he soon learns English without an accent.

She has to keep her friendship secret because her father, brother, and grandfather would never understand. Likewise, Caleb must hide his relationship with her from his uncle, Tequamuck, a powerful shaman thought to practice black magic by the Puritans. That Bethia believes Tequamuck's power is an equal to her godly beliefs, is a secret she must keep. Tequamuck forsees the future and his people's place in it.

Geraldine Brooks way with words and thePuritan dialect she writes is perfect. That I listened to it on audio ( Jennifer Ehle reads it) only added to the experience. I loved the language and found myself easily catching the rhythmical way of talking, I own it.

Time passes, and Caleb comes to live with Bethia's family so her father can tutor him and eventually Caleb ends up in Cambridge on the mainland at a school where he is tutored so he can be admitted to the Indian College at Harvard. Bethia is there, too, as a servant to the headmaster of the boy's school.

Brooks seizes the opportunity to prelude the disasters that will befall all of the Indians in the future by what she does to Caleb and his best friend, Joel, another Indian scholar. Their fate is horrible and I truly think it could have been left out. The story was told and we could see the future that was coming. I guess I'm just a sucker for a happy ending.

In retrospect, written Aug 18/13, I am annoyed at how we were manipulated to discover a love story between Bethia and Caleb. Nothing ever came of it. Why were we so steered in that direction? It would have been a tragedy anyway but so was the book. Anybody else feel this way???????????
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Jun 01, 2011 Debra rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks, historical-fiction

Caleb, a Wampanoag Indian, crosses from his traditional life to that of a 17th century white man, eventually to become the first Indian to graduate from Harvard. From this snippet of history, Geraldine Brooks shows us the culture conflict as seen through the eyes of Puritan minister's daughter Bethia. But the culture conflict isn't just native/white. The gender roles, as described by Puritan precepts, are an ongoing source of tension for Bethia.

Wow. As eloquent as multi-award winning author Broo ...more

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Jun 18, 2025 Kate rated it really liked it

Another treasure from Brooks. Loved the study of cause and effect, the way a person’s life (especially the marginalized) is steered through one’s relationships. Other people’s impact on your own course, no man can truly be an island (not even Caleb’s uncle), but also the way Bethia’s life ended up helping her arrive in a lot of the places she wanted to go, because she judged well and acted prudently. There’s a lot packed in here. It was a pleasant way to pass a week.

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Mar 06, 2012 Patti Barber rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2012

Ms. Brooks has captured me in previous novels (People of the Book) and I was looking forward to reading her latest novel. Caleb's Crossing is about the life of the first American Indian to graduate from Harvard in the Mid to late 1600s. But to me the real story is with Bethia, his friend growing up and the daughter of his tutor. This fascinating character faces a lot of hardships but yet she overcomes them graciously . She is the real story here. ...more

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Jul 13, 2012 Tamela rated it it was amazing

Shelves: audio, books-read-in-2012

Difficult to start so don't give up too soon because, as always, Brooks is an incredible writer and writes about incredibly interesting topics. ...more

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