"[Crossings] is a remarkably assured debut ... a fresh and authentic novel that captures the difficulty of being true to oneself."-Kirkus Reviews "Crossings is a humane and finely controlled novel about friendship, self-knowledge, and the perilous work of choosing a life that can finally be called one's own." -L.A. City Book Reviews "[Crossings] keeps building toward the question at its center: what does it take to cross from the life assigned to you into one you can actually live? ... A thoughtful, deeply felt novel about repression, chosen loyalty, and the terrifying grace of finally moving toward freedom."-San Francisco City Book ReviewsHawaii, 1968. Vietnam always on the horizon.
Closeted, yet still not safe from harassment by certain fellow Marines, Tomby finds a lifeline in a secret friendship with one of their wives-Valetta. She married for the wrong reason and is stuck on the island with no one she can call a friend-until Tomby.
Their bond becomes a safe harbor as adversaries persist, accidental mentors show up, and Vietnam draws closer. The pressure mounts to choose between duty and truth, and the two friends risk everything for a chance at freedom.
Rendered in precise, lived-in detail that brings to vivid life the Hawaii of Vietnam-era recruits, Crossings is a novel about desire and constraint, the courage to find true home-and the heart to make that crossing possible.
For readers of The Book of Form and Emptiness and The Great Believers.