Crossing the River

Praise

"A brilliantly coherent version of two and a half centuries of the African diaspora. . . . Richly counterpointed. . . . Its resonance continues to deepen." —The New York Times Book Review

"[Phillips] is a master ventriloquist, giving immediacy and voice to an impressive range of vivid characters about whom the reader cares deeply. . . . Wonderfully individual." —San Francisco Chronicle

"Like Isabel Allende and Gabriel García Márquez, [Phillips] writes of times so heady and chaotic and of characters so compelling that time moves as if guided by the moon and dreams." —Los Angeles Times Book Review

"Uncommonly resourceful . . . an admirably complex and artfully wrought effort to renegotiate the staggering dimensions of the African diaspora. . . . A highly particularized web of damning circumstances, each crafted in its own distinctly styled prose . . . Crossing the River bears eloquently chastened testimony to the shattering of black lives." —Boston Globe

"Beautifully measured writing that powerfully evokes the far-reaching realities of the African diaspora. A masterwork." —Kirkus Reviews

"This ambitious novel amounts to a chorale. . . . Phillips’s gifts are manifest and his technical prowess enlarges with each novel. . . . An impressively controlled performance." —Chicago Tribune

"With irony, understatement, and artful compression . . . Phillips distills the African diaspora to an essence, bitter and unforgettable." —Entertainment Weekly

"Memorable, convincing characters, broad vision, and evocative narrative result in a novel both resonant and deeply moving. . . . A stirring meditation on the hardship and perseverance of people torn from home." —Publishers Weekly

"Zigzagging across continents and generations, it is a fearless reimagining of the geography and meaning of the African diaspora. . . . Phillips brings an inventiveness and exacting lucidity to bear." —Village Voice