The Last Crossing: Amazon.co.uk: Guy Vanderhaeghe: Books

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'Rarely are today's hungry readers invited to such a feast of a book ... Here are brilliant writing, picaresque adventure, plot twists, history and studies of human nature ... the plot continues to twist until the very end, when the reader is served up a wallop' Annie Proulx 'Vanderhaeghe is simply a wonderful writer' - Richard Ford

THE SPECTATOR

'Brute savagery,high jinks and a great deal of blackish hunour'

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3.7 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)

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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lively melodrama of the Northwest frontier in the 1870s., 29 Feb 2004

By	Mary Whipple (New England) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

In this broad saga of the New Territories, from Montana into Canada, Guy Vanderhaeghe brings to life the search of two Englishmen for their lost brother, Simon Gaunt, who has pursued a charismatic preacher in the hopes of converting the Indians to Christianity. No word has been heard from him in over a year. While twin brother Charles genuinely misses Simon, older brother Addington sees the search as a grand, selfish adventure-an excuse to hunt at his father's expense. The three brothers share the same blood and have had the same upbringing, but they have taken very different paths in life, and the sojourn in North America provides the stimulus which allows each one to discover his own inner nature. As Addington becomes more brutal and selfish, Charles becomes more sensitive and realistic. Gradually, an image of Simon emerges, through Charles's descriptions, as a "man dreaming so deeply as to be incapable of wakening to reality."

As the search party departs, every member is seeking some kind of love, acceptance, and a sense of connection to the wider world. Jerry Potts, the scout, is half Scots and half Blackfoot Indian and yearns for his small son from whom he is estranged. Lucy Stoveall is searching for the brutal killers of her 13-year-old sister Madge Dray. Custis Straw, who loves Lucy, suffers from nightmares about the Civil War and the loss of his family. Addington, who becomes deranged as time progresses, hunts and kills animals and Indians for the sheer bloodlust. Constant motifs of blood and bloodlines pervade the novel, as the trip challenges each member to understand who s/he is by birth and who s/he has become through the accidents of history.

The great Northwest, with the power and grandeur of its scenery, its wildlife, and its rapidly changing weather provides for innumerable dramatic scenes.

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Last Crossing 11 Apr 05, 11 April 2005

By	Ms. Melanie Young "chickbean" (Sussex, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Last Crossing (Paperback)

This is a story set in the 1850's of three brothers from a wealthy English family, one (they favourite son) goes missing in America and the remaining two are sent by a domineering Father to bring him back. On their arrival they hire help to assist them in their search and there the lives of all intertwine. It reveals a glimpse of what life was like in America at the time and provides interesting characters (all with their own stories to tell) in a mix of a love story and whodunit, (although that isn't too difficult to figure out). I really enjoyed this book and thought it well worth a read.

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not just a novel; literature for the 21st Century, 21 April 2004

By	"bryn1945" - See all my reviews

Having read The Englishman's Boy by the same author, which I reviewed andthought superb, I wondered whether this would live up to thehype.
Well, it did.
This magnificent book contrasts the privileged life of the upper class inVictorian England, with life on the frontier of Montana and Alberta.
The hero is a famous artist in England, and he recounts the epic story ofhow he, and an older brother go in search of the hero's twin brother whohas disappeared in the American North West whilst himself following adisciple of a new faith.
The elder brother is an ex soldier and leads the expedition, which for avariety of reasons is extended to include the famous Indian Scout JerryPotts, an erudite saloon keeper, a feisty frontier lady and a Civil Warveteran much given to reading the Bible.
It is a fascinating mixture of characters and the descriptive writingevokes what must have been the reality of the developing West.
The elder brothers deteriorating mental state means we have an anti-heroto dislike, and his clash with a grizzly bear had me on the edge of myseat.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough to anyone interestedin the Native American culture and life on the Great Plains not so manyyears ago.
The characters are beautifully formed and wonderfully observed, as are thelocations.
The writing is of the highest quality making for an immensely enjoyableand eminently readable book