Crossers: A Novel

Written by Philip Caputo

Narrated by Paul Boehmer

Taking us from the turn of the twentieth century to our present day, from the impoverished streets of rural Mexico to the manicured lawns of suburban Connecticut, from the hot and dusty air of an isolated ranch to New York City in the wake of 9/11, Philip Caputo gives us an impeccably crafted story about three generations of an Arizona family forced to confront the violence and loss that have become its inheritance.

When Gil Castle loses his wife in the Twin Tower attacks, he retreats to his family's sprawling homestead in a remote corner of the Southwest. Consumed by grief, he has to find a way to live with his loss in this strange, forsaken part of the country, where drug lords have more power than police and violence is a constant presence. But it is also a world of vast open spaces, where Castle begins to rebuild his belief in the potential for happiness-until he starts to uncover the dark truths about his fearsome grandfather, a legacy that has been tightly shrouded in mystery in the years since the old man's death.

When Miguel Espinoza shows up at the ranch, terrified after two friends were murdered in a border-crossing drug deal gone bad, Castle agrees to take him in. Yet his act of generosity sets off a flood of violence and vengeance, a fierce reminder of the fact that while he may be able to reinvent himself, he may never escape his history.

Searingly dramatic, bold, and timely, Crossers is Caputo's most ambitious and brilliantly realized novel yet.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Nov 2, 2009
• ISBN: 9781400184262

Philip Caputo

Philip Caputo is the author of fifteen books, including the classic Vietnam War memoir A Rumor of War and the novel Horn of Africa, which was a finalist for the National Book Award. His most recent book is The Longest Road. As a journalist, Caputo won the Pulitzer Prize and has published work in the New York Times, Washington Post, Esquire, and National Geographic, among other publications.

Reviews for Crossers

[seriousgrace · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Be prepared to go on an epic journey crisscrossing time when you read Crossers. Caputo will seize you by the scruff of your psyche to take you back and forth from the New York of September 11th, 2001 to the wild west of the early 1900s. You will bounce from the dirty roads of rural Mexico to the tranquil streets of Connecticut. Characters from all walks of life will march across the page: ruthless drug lords and crusty wild west outlaws; graceful artists and desperate illegal aliens. At the center of the story is one man, Gil Castle. Consumed by grief after losing his wife in the 9/11 attacks, Gil retreats to his generations old family's ranch in a remote corner of southwest Arizona. There he joins his uncle and cousin and tries to rebuild his heart while mending fences, tending cattle, and fighting off mules and murderers. In this respite he thought he could escaped the senseless violence of the terror attacks, but when the present day ancestors of ancient ghosts come seeking revenge for something his grandfather had done, Gil realizes his own family's past has a dark and dangerous story to tell and he will pay the price.

[ktp50 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Was okay. Guy moves to a ranch near the Mexican boarder. Experiences the war on drugs firsthand. Story is somewhat boring. You expect more from Phillip Caputo.

[seeker42 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Great background, and plot. Characters not well drawn, but stereotypical. The key women were all sex objects first, then whatever they did second. Men, of course lusty, virile, overactive, see women as sex objects.

[chorn369 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Crossers pulls virtually every complicated issue plaguing the U.S.-Mexican border, populates it with richly-drawn, complicated characters, and adds a running history lesson that contextualizes how and why the culture of the border has wound up in the state that it is today. The denouement is stunning, and like any on the border, bloody, horrific and sad. I stayed up late getting there.

[repb_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An excellent tale; deals with the ugly subject of illegal drug smuggling and illegal aliens coming into the U.S. Caputo has just moved onto the 'desired authors' list of mine. Wonderful insight and writing. Definitely fits the 'difficult to put down' category. A real pleasure to read.