A stirring romance…
Set in California and Mexico, Webster’s gripping latest tells the story of one man’s journey through life. Carlos Montoya always had trouble with his culture’s unquestioning faith, but when at twenty-two, he arrived in California illegally and suffered great misery at the hands of his Anglo employer, he lost his faith completely. When his employer’s wife offers to use him in martial combat against her philandering husband in exchange of money, Carlos doesn’t think twice. But the guilt weighs heavy on his mind, and his passionate affairs with two different women while his wife waits at home in Mexico strains his psyche further. Now 26 years later, the lovely Lilia Gomez arrives at his doorstep with questions about his old transgressions. The long-buried secrets come to surface, and the fate offers Carlos a chance to come to peace with his tortured past. Webster beautifully explores the trials and hardships of Mexican immigrants and the marked social differences (Carlos’s family lives at the edge of poverty back home while his employers come from a privileged background) against the background of the free-love, nonreligious ’60s California. Carlos’s relaxed attitude toward his extramarital affairs combined with his overly convenient justifications of being away from his wife make him not-so-likable character. But Webster’s gritty candor and unflinching gaze at Carlos’s shortcomings make the narrative ring with authenticity. Webster’s writing is assured, and he takes great care to draw his flesh-and-blood, humane characters. The shifting narrative (between the past and present) flows smoothly, and the heartfelt ending leaves a sweet note in readers’ minds. This is a must read for fans of literary fiction.
Carlos Crosses The Line
A Tale of Immigration, Temptation and Betrayal in the Sixties
By Edward Webster
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Casa de los Sueños Publishing
Pub date August 4, 2020
ISBN 978-0997032024
Price $14.95 (USD) Paperback, $24.95 Hardcover, $7.99 Kindle edition
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