February 21, 2013

“Cross Roads” by Wm. Paul Young – Unforeseen Consequences

Anthony Spencer is a young, proud and rich man whose self-made business has propelled him to the top of his game, regardless of the fact that he made it so high thanks to the sacrifices of others.

One day, destiny repays him for all his so-called efforts by giving him a cerebral hemorrhage, after which he wakes up in the hospital only to find himself in a slightly different world. In this world, he cannot really say what is true or what is false (or what it is in the first place), but it mirrors many aspects of life which he is familiar with, not to mention he can experience events through the point of view of others.

He also communicates with voices who may or not be figments of his imagination. Yet, he listens to them anyways, learning more and more not only about himself, but also about the unforeseen consequences of his actions. In the end (not the literal end though), he learns that he is responsible for a giant injustice about to occur… can he do anything to prevent it from the confines of that other world?

As you would expect, Cross Roads by William Paul Young delivers both in terms of story and thematic explorations. For starters, Spencer is a captivating character, starting off as someone most of us probably know in our lives, and eventually coming to the realization that not only were his actions wrong, but that he has caused pain and suffering to others without even noticing it. 

The desperation with which he yearns for redemption is something truly beautiful to watch, especially seeing as how he is at a point where he is ready to believe voices that he knows could be his imagination. What seemed like an indestructible empire, with time, makes itself known as nothing more than a castle of cards.

The other characters in the book are also quite interesting, and with there not being too many of them we, the readers, can focus more on understanding the few ones we are presented with. While the story doesn’t move at a breakneck pace, it still goes faster than you would expect for this type of novel.

Cross Roads by Wm. Paul Young (Book cover)
As for the themes, who can honestly say that they are not interested into what happens after death? It is perhaps the one mystery that will remain unsolved to the living forever, and that’s what makes every theory about it so interesting. In this case, what Paul Young depicts as being the possible afterlife is actually quite down-to-Earth, and forgive me if my opinion offends some, it is much more believable than what the world’s major religions believe in. 

In the end, I see Cross Roads as being an excavation into the human soul, looking at what gives us the drive to go on, and what can actually change our nature. I recommend this novel to any reader out there who looks at books as a source of knowledge and not just entertainment, although there sure is plenty of that in the book.


William Paul Young (Author)

William Paul Young


Personal site

William Paul Young is an author of Canadian origin whose best-known work is the novel that moved countless people across the world, The Shack. After a shaky, but eventually successful launch into the world of literature, Young has published his second novel, Cross Roads, through Faith Words.



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