Crossing the Meadow    by Kfir Luzzatto Order:  USA  Can Echelon Press, 2003 (2003) Paperback     Reviewed by Martina Bexte After many years absence, George is happy that he's finally managed to find the time to return to his birthplace. Today he's sitting in a familiar café but can't understand why some of the people who pass by don't recognize him. He knows them but when he says hello, he's ignored. More strange is the fact that every time he calls home to speak to his wife and daughters the connection seems bad. He can hear them, but his voice doesn't get through. In fact, his youngest daughter seems convinced he's a crank caller. George's ruminations are interrupted when a beautiful young woman settles at his table. He soon discovers that he and Clara share past history; she had an affair with George's father, and when she pressed for more, she was murdered and buried beneath the bathtub in his old flat. At first George is horrified by Clara's revelations, but quickly his foremost concern is how he could possibly be having a conversation with a dead woman. Is he too a ghost? Clara fills in more blanks and helps George come to terms with his own death, and the reasons why both of them, along with many other souls, have not yet 'crossed the meadow' into paradise. She explains that they share a past, and that it must be dealt with before they can make the final crossing. So they work together to convince those still living to investigate a long forgotten thirty year old mystery. This is a quiet story that captures your attention from the first page, as it explores the world of the dead who choose to linger rather than move on to a realm that for some is surely paradise. George and Clara finally find their answers, yet Luzzatto keeps what lies at the other side of the meadow as ambiguous as it was at the beginning of the story. Some readers might find the author's style stilted, particularly the dialogue, which often sounds dated and too formal for a story that, for the most part, is set in the present. Over all though, Crossing the Meadow is an entertaining and thought provoking story. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Fantasy books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews