"A brilliantly coherent version of two and a half centuries of the African diaspora. . . . Richly counterpointed. . . . Its resonance continues to deepen." --
The New York Times Book Review "[Phillips] is a master ventriloquist, giving immediacy and voice to an impressive range of vivid characters about whom the reader cares deeply. . . . Wonderfully individual." --
San Francisco Chronicle "Like Isabel Allende and Gabriel García Márquez, [Phillips] writes of times so heady and chaotic and of characters so compelling that time moves as if guided by the moon and dreams." --
Los Angeles Times Book Review "Uncommonly resourceful . . . an admirably complex and artfully wrought effort to renegotiate the staggering dimensions of the African diaspora. . . . A highly particularized web of damning circumstances, each crafted in its own distinctly styled prose . . .
Crossing the River bears eloquently chastened testimony to the shattering of black lives." --Boston Globe
"Beautifully measured writing that powerfully evokes the far-reaching realities of the African diaspora. A masterwork." --
Kirkus Reviews "This ambitious novel amounts to a chorale. . . . Phillips's gifts are manifest and his technical prowess enlarges with each novel. . . . An impressively controlled performance." --
Chicago Tribune "With irony, understatement, and artful compression . . . Phillips distills the African diaspora to an essence, bitter and unforgettable." --
Entertainment Weekly "Memorable, convincing characters, broad vision, and evocative narrative result in a novel both resonant and deeply moving. . . . A stirring meditation on the hardship and perseverance of people torn from home." --
Publishers Weekly "Zigzagging across continents and generations, it is a fearless reimagining of the geography and meaning of the African diaspora. . . . Phillips brings an inventiveness and exacting lucidity to bear." --
Village Voice