A review by jbmorgan86
Dark at the Crossing by Elliot Ackerman
4.0
A crucial aspect of Joseph Campbell's "Hero's Journey" is "Crossing the First Threshold." Bilbo and Frodo both leave the Shire. Dorothy opens the door to Oz. Alice chases the White Rabbit into Wonderland. The crossing of the threshold shows that the hero is fully committed to the journey. The novel Dark at the Crossing, however, is all about crossing the threshold (the threshold being the Syrian border).
Haris is an Iraqi-American citizenship who won his citizenship for being a translator for American forces in Iraq. However, life hasn't turned out well for him in America. He works as a janitor at a university so he can put his sister through the university. Now, his sister decides to marry a wealthy man and move back to the Middle East. Haris decides that he must also return to the Middle East. However, he isn't going for love. He's going for war.
The whole novel is about Haris attempting to cross the Turkish-Syrian border so he can join the fight against Bashar Al-Assad. He meets allies and opponents along the way. How will he cross the border? With democratic-loving freedom fighters? With Da-Esh (ISIS)?
The resounding message of the novel is that war is hell. I was somewhat surprised by this when I learned that the author had served several tours in Iraq.
The novel was short-listed for the National Book Award.
Haris is an Iraqi-American citizenship who won his citizenship for being a translator for American forces in Iraq. However, life hasn't turned out well for him in America. He works as a janitor at a university so he can put his sister through the university. Now, his sister decides to marry a wealthy man and move back to the Middle East. Haris decides that he must also return to the Middle East. However, he isn't going for love. He's going for war.
The whole novel is about Haris attempting to cross the Turkish-Syrian border so he can join the fight against Bashar Al-Assad. He meets allies and opponents along the way. How will he cross the border? With democratic-loving freedom fighters? With Da-Esh (ISIS)?
The resounding message of the novel is that war is hell. I was somewhat surprised by this when I learned that the author had served several tours in Iraq.
The novel was short-listed for the National Book Award.