The Crossing by Michael Doane

A young guy sets off on a quest of self-discovery with unexpected results in Doane’s debut book “The Crossing“. The protagonist, who shall remain nameless, is experiencing heartache. His love departs for Portland, Oregon, with a mission to travel the world. But he’s a small-town kid who hasn’t done much travelling. So, the narrator laments her passing and withdraws from society while devoting all of his time to restoring an ancient motorcycle.

Up until he finally decides to take the plunge, packs his bike and a few personal items, and sets out to find the Girl. Doane delivers a coming-of-age tale of a guy finding himself on the backroads of America, following in the literary footsteps of Jack Kerouac and William Least Heat-Moon. Doane is a talented writer who uses The Narrator’s interpersonal interactions to highlight the diversity of the United States. Her prose is fluent and she makes perceptive insights.

To get to the West Coast as soon as possible, the narrator first adheres to freeways. Duke, a hitchhiker, however, persuades him to veer off the established track and take in the trip. “No place is the same as any other,” [39] Dukes asserts, and The Narrator acknowledges that he is correct. Suddenly, the journey becomes more important than the final destination. The narrator abandons his truck and rides a bike across the mountains and deserts. He kills his phone in an effort to cut himself off from the past and live in the present.

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The Narrator meets a number of interesting people as he travels around the nation, and their perspectives and experiences have a big influence on his own. Duke, the complex cowboy and nomad, helps The Narrator see the world from a different perspective. His heart is opened and he is reminded that love exists in this vast world by Zooey, a waitress in Colorado. Additionally, The Narrator’s lovely Portland landlady Rosie helps put him back together emotionally and physically.

Excellent supporting cast members make up this group. In particular, Duke is incredibly complex and intricate. He is a relic from another era—a cell phone-free man who reads Sartre and sleeps outside. However, he’s also a thief who hurts others around him with a “love ’em and leave ’em” mentality. It’s intriguing to see The Narrator struggle to decide which of Duke’s behaviours to emulate and which to reject.

In The Narrator, Doane makes a sympathetic lead character whose improvement in character doesn’t excuse his flaws. It is wonderful that he was willing to travel without much money, and he was foresighted enough to foresee the envy of those who were unable or unable to make the leap. His horizons are expanded through his interactions with different meals, environments, and people. His selfishness and immaturity nonetheless continue.

He tells Rosie that she has been a nice mother to him, but he decides to disregard his own parents’ ongoing worries as he essentially vanishes from his previous existence. It’s a pleasure to travel with The Narrator on his psychological and physical trip despite his shortcomings. An dramatic and spectacular road trip has a suitable climax with the unexpected outcome.

About The Book

In Michael Doane’s debut novel, a young man embarks on an epic road trip to find his Love. As he traverses the backroads from coast to coast, he learns to forget the past, live in the moment, and appreciate the diversity of America.

Written in the same tradition as On the Road and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Michael Doane’s The Crossing explores what it means to exist in 21st century America.

She’s out on a pier, deep in the ocean. A tidal wave is coming. Standing at the edge of the earth where the sand is swallowed up by the salty sea, I call for her…

So begins a young man’s journey west in search of his lost love. Haunted by nightmares of her memory, our nameless hero leaves home looking to solve a mystery. In the end, he discovers much more than he set out to find.