Standing at the Crossroads by Charles Davis is a short, but powerful read. It is written in a short, allegorical style much as his first novel Walk On, Bright Boy.

From the first chapter to the last is about 150 pages, packed with much imagery, much imagination and in a way I still don't completely understand for myself, much reality.

Our hero also the narrator, is known as The Barefoot Librarian is a black man who lives in Africa. (Most likely Sudan, but we don't really know). Kate is a white woman who comes to Africa and wants to tell the truth of what she sees there.

Standing at the Crossroads follows the story of Kate and "The Barefoot Librarian" as they take refuge from a common enemy that wants to see them both dead. It is at times hopeful,amusing and educational and then at other times, it is a harrowing read that leaves you breathless.

The only reason this book took so long for me to read, is that I took it with me for Dr. Appointments and would only read it then. Trust me, this book is easily read in a few hours.

Disclosure:I received a free copy of this book for the purpose of reviewing it> ( )

I love books that are reciprocal in nature -- reading them acknowledges the writing process, the joy of stories and how they become part of a reader's life. Needless to say, then, I am a big fan of this interesting book. There was just enough familiarity in its fewer than 200 pages, and just enough novelty for it to pique my interest but not seem overdone. It's hard to describe in ways not already done by other LibraryThing reviewers... but I wanted to toss in my support nonetheless. ( )

I’ve been glad from the start that this is a short book, though my reasoning changed as I read. When I first started, I was glad because its literary allusions had aroused every bit of arrogance in me. The Early Reviewers blurb and the cover promised an intensity well above what I was reading. Well, it was barely 160 pages. I decided to get it over with. It wasn’t but a few more pages before I began to understand and admire the narrator’s relationship with the characters of my literature. And all too soon I began to understand that 160 pages was all I could hope to bear of the intensity of emotion the story would demand. It would be all too real, and both the narrator and I would need the refuge of Ishmael and Mr. Darcy.

I could not rush through the book. Though its story is told in a span of just a few days, I needed more time than that to assimilate what it told. I needed to live with the characters, but not by hearing their story in more detail. As it is, some of the details are still a bit too much or too pat, such as when the Black man and the White woman give in to sex and immediately call it love, despite the desperate circumstances that have thrown them together. But what is best is how the narrator relates another story, of story itself, of how even stories from an alien culture, about people unlike any you will ever know, can save your life. They do not prevent profound physical or even emotional suffering, but they can give you someplace else to go.

The stories the librarian has read give him context in which to share some of his story with the woman and with us. His references, though never very deep, help me understand that, just as the librarian can’t quite know my characters as well as I do, I cannot quite grasp all the depths of his story. I don’t know how Charles Davis did. I hope he did, and I appreciate his sharing whatever he understood with me. These 160 pages will be with me for a long time. ( )

There are few books I want to read again as soon as I finished, this is one. The protagenist, the barefoot librarian, relates all that happens to books and characters. He is African, in the midst of a civil war that he takes no part in. Beautifully written, it contemplates the meaning of reading. Can't wait to get my book group to read it so I have someone to discuss it with. ( )

Incredible book, truly incredible. Brilliant plot development, characters, metaphors & such drama & such crisp description of a land & time that defies description. Quite heart-rending. A short book that has left a deep indent in me.
Thank you Lauren for the recommendation! You knew I'd like it. Not sure about the comparison of me to Kate. Took about a week to read. ( )