Tom’s Crossing

by Mark Z. Daniielewski

Set in the rural town of Orvop, Utah, in 1982, this 1,232-page novel follows Kalin March, a 16-year-old outsider and talented horse rider. After the death of his charismatic friend Tom Gatestone, Kalin honors a promise to rescue two horses, Mouse and Navidad, from a slaughterhouse. Joined by Tom’s sister, Landry, and the ghost of Tom himself, Kalin embarks on a perilous journey through the Isatch mountain range. The narrative, which unfolds over five days leading up to Halloween, pits the protagonists against the harsh wilderness and the villainous Orwin Porch, a local patriarch and enemy of the Gatestone family. The story explores themes of connection, loss, guilt, and redemption through a western-inflected, cinematic lens.