Crossways: A Novel

by Sheila Kohler

Set in a wealthy Johannesburg suburb in the late 1960s, Crossways is a family drama of love and grief. The heroine, Kate, returns from Paris to the family home ("Crossways") for the funeral of her sister Marion. Marion was killed in a car accident that left her husband, Louis, the driver, in intensive care. Amid sometimes loving, sometimes troubling reminiscences of her beloved sister, Kate begins to reflect upon the circumstances of Marion's fatal accident. From his hospital bed, Louis, who overcame a neglectful and impoverished childhood to become a prominent heart surgeon, recalls his early fascination with the glamorous, inseparable sisters. A third perspective is that of John, the Zulu man who essentially raised the sisters, manages Crossways, and keeps all its secrets. The more Kate learns about Louis, the more suspicious she becomes, until finally, her worst fears are confirmed and the novel moves to its shocking but inevitable conclusion.

Genres: Mystery

256 pages, Paperback

First published October 30, 2004

About the author

Sheila Kohler was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, the younger of two girls. Upon matriculation at 17 from Saint Andrews, with a distinction in history (1958), she left the country for Europe. She lived for 15 years in Paris, where she married, did her undergraduate degree in literature at the Sorbonne, and a graduate degree in psychology at the Institut Catholique. After raising her three girls, she moved to the USA in 1981, and did an MFA in writing at Columbia.

In the summer of 1987, her first published story, “The Mountain,” came out in “The Quarterly” and received an O’Henry prize and was published in the O’Henry Prize Stories of 1988. It also became the first chapter in her first novel, "The Perfect Place," which was published by Knopf the next year.

Reviews

[Cherise Wolas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dark and compelling, a page turner elegantly written and set in 1970s apartheid South Africa, where the family and marital secrets and betrayals lie just below the surface, and apartheid-era injustices skulk in the background. There are polarities in the novel - between the sisters who form the core, Kate Kempden, a translator in Paris, and her older sister Marion, mother of three young children, married to Afrikaner Louis, a handsome and respected heart surgeon, between the sisters' mother, Julia and her own sister, the poorer relation who has long lived with the family, between British privilege and Afrikaner poverty, between white and black. The dysfunction of the Kempden family, the dysfunction of Louis, his mental illness and his background, makes for stark reading.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Kate returns to South Africa for her sister's funeral, she fears the worst when she finds her brother in law was driving the car the caused her sister's death. Told from multiple view points, this is not only a good thriller, but a look into life in South Africa. "Cracks" by Kohler is one of my favorites- everything I have read by her is quite dark.

[Eren · Rating 3 out of 5]

I stumbled on this book on my bookshelf and started reading. Once I got past the first few pages, I was hooked. Maybe it was predictable, but my fear that the husband would win kept me going. Interesting peek at mid-century South African society .

[Jill Prouty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great story. I had to get used to her voice, but definitely worth the read. The novel is based on what happened to her sister. Chilling.

[Cynthia Kane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Uh... very predictable...
I was glad it was a fast read.
But will read her earlier novel, Cracks, now...

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

disappointing after reading her later books ... I couldn't really feel anything for these characters. but the suspense was handled well and I read until the end.