Crossing to Paradise

Crossing to Paradise

     By: Kevin Crossley-Holland

            Crossing to Paradise is a historical-fiction book written by Kevin Crossley-Holland. It was a wonderful book that made it easier to understand how things were in the Middle Ages, in a captivating way. The themes and ideas from the book were great and the characters were brilliant. The characters were full of personality, and that made it so much easier to relate to them. The author is a well-known writer and will be discussed later in the review. Not only was this book a pleasure to read, it solidified and strengthened my knowledge of the way of life in the Middle Ages.

            A few major themes of this book included religion, the Middle East, and a pilgrimage. Gatty, who was the main character, was an illiterate, orphaned, 15 year-old field-girl that lived on the quiet English manor of Caldicot. She was chosen to go on a Holy Pilgrimage to Jerusalem as Lady Gwyneth de Ewloe’s second chamber servant.  On the pilgrimage, accompanying Gatty and Lady Gwyneth, were several other people. These people included Nest, Lady Gwyneth’s first chamber servant; Snout, the cook; Emrys, the stableman; Nakin, a Chester merchant; Everard, the Chester cathedral choirmaster; and Tilda, Emrys’ wife. On the trip, Austin was to teach Gatty how to read and write and Everard would teach her how to properly sing. Lady Gwyneth’s pilgrimage is to Bethlehem, the Holy Land. Everybody on this pilgrimage was of the Christian faith. On the way to Jerusalem, they faced many dangers, including encountering Saracens and robbers. Saracens were what Arabs and Muslims were called around the time of the Crusades.  Most were very hostile, and sometimes even vicious toward Christian pilgrims. On their journey, the pilgrims faced many risks. They ate rotten food, were exhausted, and one person even died. Through the Middle East they traveled, from England to Jerusalem. They went through France, Sicily, and Venice. They met many interesting people of different cultures. Pilgrimages, which occurred often during the Crusades, really helped spread cultural diffusion and other peoples’ ways of life. When the pilgrims finally reached Jerusalem, they were ecstatic. Then, they were put in a prison! In the prison, they met a Saracen. In Bethlehem, they met a couple; the man was a Christian and the woman was a Saracen. Gatty realized that peoples’ religions don’t govern their actions. She realized that there are good people and bad people of every race, culture, etc. At the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, pilgrims had to pay the Saracens to enter the holy sanctuary. They had a “pilgrim season,” which governed when and how long pilgrims got to stay in the Holy Sepulchre.  Now that they had made their long and grueling journey TO Jerusalem, they now had to travel BACK to their homelands.  When they returned home, everybody was so happy to see them. The pilgrims had blessed their towns. They met in the Church at Caldicot and the pilgrims told their tale. Even though Caldicot had had some rough times, they all felt blessed and safe, as their little pilgrim had returned home. This book ended almost like a fairy-tale. It was absolutely wonderful.

            A few things that really stood out to me include a couple of quotes. One of the ones I thought was true goes as follows: “We must look around us, and question what we see. (171)” It was said by a Saracen astronomer to Gatty as they discussed whether the Earth was flat or round. I thought that this was an astute remark, as it showed that curiosity and a little bit of caution is a good thing. If we took everything people say for true, none of us would be able to think for ourselves. This was one of the things that spurred the Golden Age during the Renaissance. The movable-type printing press was developed by Johannes Gutenberg and this was what allowed people to get their own copies of things, such as the Bible. When they had these things, they were able to become educated, read them, and make decisions and come to conclusions for themselves. They did not have to believe everything they were told anymore, as they could decide for themselves what they wanted to believe. If people didn’t question the things around them, we would live in a world of oblivion. A second quote that caught my attention was said by Raven, Kit the Trader’s brother, “But some clever people…say the whole point of a journey is the journey.(286)” He said this in response to Kit the Trader’s comment, “Some people say the whole point of a journey is to reach your destination.(286)” I agreed with Raven. I thought that this was a really good point. If you are so focused on your destination, how will you enjoy and learn on the way there? I thought that the answer to that was obvious. You won’t. If all Gatty had been interested in was getting to Jerusalem, then she wouldn’t have had much of a chance to meet all of the people she did, learn all of the new things she did, or find herself through her physical and mental journey to the Holy Land. I admired Gatty’s strength and curiosity as she discovers new things and decides how she feels about them. A third quote that really astounded me was when Gatty said, “I want to be in this world, not out of it. (293)” This was one of those quotes that could have been taken a thousand different ways. To me, it meant that she wanted to be involved in the world and not be a bystander. She didn't want to sit on the sidelines, she wanted to be in the game. I felt that she had so much knowledge of the world and how things work. She was an admirable character and she always kept me guessing.

            The Author, Kevin Crossley-Holland, is an amazing writer and has made a lot of accomplishments. He lives in Norfolk, England and was born in 1941. He is the author of historical fictions, picture books, translations from Anglo-Saxon, and many more things. His Arthur Trilogy was published in 21 languages. He has won the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize. I think he is a very qualified writer and I will be reading more of his books. He has written other historical-fiction books, and the reviews and ratings for them are outstanding. His website (click here to go to website) lists out all of his accomplishments by name. He has earned 4 awards, has professional experience publishing and broadcasting, has taught, and has published many works. I think that he is a great author and encourage anyone to read his works.

            Reading this book, I noticed some things that I had heard about before. There were also some things that I had not heard of. When I began reading, I immediately knew that it was during the times of the Crusades. A pilgrimage is a journey, usually taken for religious reasons. A lot of pilgrimages were taken during the Crusades. I knew about the Crusades before I read the book.  The first Crusade was between Muslims and Christians, and it was over the Holy Land. In the book, it stated, “Saladin was unwilling - unwilling or unable to pay the ransom for them, and so the crusaders put the whole lot to the sword.” The “them” it talked about were the Saracens, Saladin’s army. The Siege of Acre began in 1189. In the book, Brother Gabriel was telling Gatty and Snout about the battle when the Crusaders besieged Acre and killed three thousand of the Saracens. The book, I believe, was based off of some major events in history. These were only two examples of the many that were shown in the book. This book was beautifully written. It was entertaining and educating. I thought that it was a very good book.

            In conclusion, this was one of the best books I’ve ever read and I would recommend it to any student of appropriate age. The themes and ideas were very nicely put together. The author is an amazing writer and has the reviews and statistics to show it. I loved the characters as well. They were almost like real people. It really helped me see how life was, how people acted, and how people thought about things in that time era. It was an absolutely scintillating read and I hope you decide to read it!