Cross Currents [Paperback]

John Shors (Author)

Book Description

Release date: September 6, 2011

Thailand's pristine Ko Phi Phi island attracts tourists from around the world. There, struggling to make ends meet, small-resort owners Lek and Sarai are happy to give an American named Patch room and board in exchange for his help. But when Patch's brother, Ryan, arrives, accompanied by his girlfriend, Brooke, Lek learns that Patch is running from the law, and his presence puts Lek's family at risk. Meanwhile, Brooke begins to doubt her love for Ryan while her feelings for Patch blossom.

In a landscape where nature's bounty seems endless, these two families are swept up in an approaching cataclysm that will require all their strength of heart and soul to survive...

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Stunning and profoundly moving." - National Geographic Traveler magazine, which named Cross Currents as its "Book of the Month"

"The back cover of Cross Currents includes blurbs from bestselling authors Wally Lamb and Amy Tan. I believe Lamb and Tan recognize what so many others see in Shors: a talented author who makes distant lands and events feel close to home and personal." - The Colorado Springs Gazette

"Cross Currents is an emotional and powerful novel, and one I would recommend in an instant!" - PeekingBetweenThePages.com

"Shors' advocacy for international causes clearly establishes his place as one of the most humanitarian voices in fiction today." - FreshFiction.com

"Shors is an immense talent." - Amy Tan, New York Times bestselling author of The Joy Luck Club

"Gripping, moving, and ravishingly written, Shors' latest is a stunning story of family, connection, and the astonishing power of nature."—Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of Pictures of You

"A maelstrom of riveting action. I loved this book."

(-Karl Marlantes, New York Times bestselling author of Matterhorn )

"A supremely readable tale."

(-Joan Silber, bestselling author of The Size of the World )

About the Author

John Shors is the bestselling author of Beneath a Marble Sky, Beside a Burning Sea, Dragon House, The Wishing Trees, and Cross Currents. He has won numerous awards for his writing, and his novels have been translated into twenty-six languages. John encourages reader feedback and can be easily reached via his website at johnshors.com. 

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: NAL Trade; 1 Original edition (September 6, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 045123460X
• ISBN-13: 978-0451234605
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 0.8 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #847,005 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John's novels (Beneath a Marble Sky, Temple of a Thousand Faces, Beside a Burning Sea, Dragon House, The Wishing Trees, and Cross Currents) have won multiple awards, and have been translated into twenty-five languages.

John has also spoken (via speakerphone) with more than 3,000 book clubs.

For more information on John's books, please visit www.johnshors.com or follow him at www.facebook.com/JohnShors.

John thanks all of his readers for their support!

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Nature/Nurture: John Shors Finds the Relationship Again September 6, 2011

By Grady Harp HALL OF FAMETOP 50 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

John Shors has secured his place among popular American novelists of the decade with this his sixth novel that combines a growing respect of the beauties of the globe and the intricacies of the manner in which characters seemingly misplaced in locales seek to find themselves only to discover that their place in the confusion of the world is close at hand, partially shaded by nature's vagaries.

CROSS CURRENTS is Shors reaction to the now almost forgotten massively destructive tsunami that devastated much of Thailand in December 2004. His love of travel to exotic places seems to instill in him an obsession for his readers to visit the places that have meant much to him. In preparation for this particular novel he revisited Thailand several times, gathering information for his plot, but more important, soaking in the cultural differences in this exotic locales so that he might paint it more accurately.

He introduces us to a Thai family of simple means - Lek, Sarai, and their three children who make a living running an island tourist `resort' on the island of Ko Phi Phi. They have given harbor to an American lad by the name of Patch whom we later learn is avoiding the law after a poorly judged run-in with drug dealing. Patch and the children are particularly close and Patch's presence helps the little family survive.

From the United States comes Patches look alike brother Ryan with his girlfriend Brooke: Ryan is there in Thailand to convince Patch to turn himself in to the authorities, take his punishment and get on with his life. The brothers are very close, but different in their values systems. A rife divides not only the brothers but also unstable bond between Ryan and Brooke. After each of the brothers realizes the value of the other and the world begins to make a little sense, the tsunami comes and destroys the island and many of the inhabitants, but the fate of Patch and Ryan and Brooke and Ryan's newly discovered love of a massage girl Dao is altered in a strange way that brings closure to the story.

Shors has the ability to take us to the locations where he places his novels to the point that we can smell the air, feel the water, taste the cuisine, and most important understand the inhabitants of these far off lands' peoples. He has a gift in relating formation of relationships of all kinds and manipulates his characters in such a way that they become close friends of ours, making us feel their joys and sorrows like few other authors can. And a pleasure associated with his writing is the lack of need for exaggerated language or sex: everything happens naturally and while he doesn't concentrate on dwelling with issues that can become tiresome, nor does he deny these exist. It is a matter of taste in his writing that overcomes the need for smarmy writing. He has the gift as is obvious by the accolades from famous authors pasted in the first pages of his book. John Shors will be around for a long time. Grady Harp, September 11

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Cross-cultural tale that honors human love and complexity September 9, 2011

By Barbara J. King

Format:Paperback

I agree fully with others who give Shors a 5-star ranking for this book. I read a great deal of fiction, and this novel offers something special. It describes not only intrafamily dynamics (one Thai family, one American family) in vivid and absorbing ways, but also the cross-cultural relationships between Thais and Americans, all with beautiful nuance. Primarily, what I mean by "nuance" is that these relationships are not homogenous, and no one is one-dimensional. The gap between rich tourists on the island of Ko Phi Phi and the poor local workers is acknowledged with detailed realism, for example, but yet the inequities aren't made into a point of moralistic preaching (this is not a "message book") and anyway not all of the tourists are shallow, or all the Thais noble. This sensitivity to human behavior is enwrapped in a plot of great suspense; we know from the outset that the tsunami will hit the island, and thus we know that not all the characters we've come to care about can possibly survive. This aspect alone kept me reading late into the night. Full marks to Shors for being unafraid to write with heart, with genuinely expressive love, about the bonds between the generations, between brothers, between lovers, and between friends. I will now be seeking to read Shors' earlier work.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome September 25, 2011

By Doug B

Format:Paperback

Cross Currents is a wonderful novel, one that brings to life a place of majestic beauty, characters of remarkable strength, and a story that is quite unique and profound.