“A sparkling debut. Landragin’s seductive literary romp shines as a celebration of the act of storytelling.” –Publishers Weekly “Romance, mystery, history, and magical invention dance across centuries in an impressive debut novel.” –Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review) “Deft writing seduces the reader in a complex tale of pursuit, denial, and retribution moving from past to future. Highly … denial, and retribution moving from past to future. Highly recommended.” —Library Journal (Starred Review)
Alex Landragin’s Crossings is an unforgettable and explosive genre-bending debut–a novel in three parts, designed to be read in two different directions, spanning a hundred and fifty years and seven lifetimes.
On the brink of the Nazi occupation of Paris, a German-Jewish bookbinder stumbles across a manuscript called Crossings. It has three narratives, each as unlikely as the next. And the narratives can be read one of two ways: either straight through or according to an alternate chapter sequence.
The first story in Crossings is a never-before-seen ghost story by the poet Charles Baudelaire, penned for an illiterate girl. Next is a noir romance about an exiled man, modeled on Walter Benjamin, whose recurring nightmares are cured when he falls in love with a storyteller who draws him into a dangerous intrigue of rare manuscripts, police corruption, and literary societies. Finally, there are the fantastical memoirs of a woman-turned-monarch whose singular life has spanned seven generations.
With each new chapter, the stunning connections between these seemingly disparate people grow clearer and more extraordinary. Crossings is an unforgettable adventure full of love, longing and empathy.
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Crossings! I don’t even know where to begin with how I feel about this incredible novel. I literally picked this up because of the cover art. It captured my attention and I thought it would be Interesting. I do that sometimes, intuitive reads. But this! Oh this was an amazing find! This novel is like a puzzle. It can be read in multiple ways and each way is a different story, all within the same story. Initially, if you read the book cover to cover in the traditional sense, it presents as 3 separate stories with their own titles and individual content. All 3 can also be read continuously through as one larger story and presents entirely differently. But the genius of this novel is the third option. The author offers you the secret code of chapter sequences where if read in order, the story becomes a different perspective entirely. It is pure genius!
The story itself revolves around a Jewish Author attempting to escape Paris during the invasion of the Nazis in WWII. Is this his fiction? Is this his memoir? Is this the memoir of the famous poet and Author Charles Baudelaire? Is this a murder mystery? A romance? A reincarnation story? A fairy tale? Ahhh……that is for the reader to decide and depends on how you choose to read the passages. No matter which choice…..or all three….it is a five star read!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.
What a fantastical journey, especially for a debut novel! This is a three-part story, and there are two different ways to read it. I read it in the conventional sequence, straight through, but you can choose the Baroness sequence, and I’m not sure what that involves or how the tale differs.
Crossings begins with a bookbinder who is given the three-part story to custom bind with the understanding that he will not read the book. However, his client is soon found brutally murdered, no one from her estate claims the book and, of course, curiosity gets the better of him.
So, what is a crossing? It is an exchange of mind and soul with another body, through the eyes, which are windows to our souls. The story is a journal outlining crossings spanning 150 years and 7 lives, beginning on a Pacific island and ending up in France during WWII.
I’m not much into mysticism and sci-fi, but this book is so imaginative, I was totally captivated. The characters are real and complex, the plot is intricate yet easy to follow and the writing is outstanding. I found myself putting off reading it until I had the time to really savor total immersion in the story.
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Crossings
Alex Landragin
Sometimes you read a book so special you just stop and say, WOW no further words needed. This is one of them.
I read this through chronologically as I was also listening to the audiobook which was amazing. I plan to read this in the future again with the chapters out of order (Baroness’ sequence) to experience this book again in a different light.
The writing is simply divine and the language beautiful. It is a genre all on its own with sprinkling of fantasy and magical, suspense and mystery, historical fiction, romance, and futuristic scifi. With an amazing world building and character development, this was a masterpiece.
Exquisite book well told.
Crossings is a book that can be read in two ways, and the way you choose to read it makes all the difference. I have to admit that I only read it one way, with the Baroness sequence, but I was super hooked. At some point, I look forward to reading it the other direction as well. This gives the book a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure sort of feel but in a much more sophisticated fashion. It twists up the idea of genre, making it historical, fantastical, romantic, thrilling, and sometimes terrifying. The result is a book that is truly unforgettable and unputdownable. I am blown away by the construct of the book and the kind of planning and foresight that the author had to write such a masterful novel. Absolutely brilliant.
The brilliance of this book on an ingenuity level is off the charts. The writing is gorgeous. The story/ies, compelling. I read it the first time the “Baroness” way, and I will tell you here and now–it is not for those who want a straightforward story that goes in a straight line. The back and forth of point of view and timeline is what makes it so intriguing, and a story worth paying attention to. I am pretty sure, once I’ve read it in the linear fashion, I’m going to prefer the Baroness way.
Once I have read it a second time, I will come back and give my impression here.
Crossings by Alex Landragin is an interesting and totally creative novel in which even describing the setting is nearly impossible. The reader is given two choices as to how to read the novel: from front to back or following the links at the end of each chapter, reminiscent of the choose-your-own-adventure books from childhood. The story is loosely based on the legend of the albatross involving star-crossed lovers but ends up in a chase through time by the lovers in an attempt to reconcile. It is oddly beautiful and certainly haunting. The basic premise is that by looking into one another’s eyes, “souls” can cross and embed in the other person. Originally the Law decreed that it was temporary, that the souls must cross back. Somehow that law was not followed and the souls traveled through history . . . searching for each other.
Number one: this is a cleverly designed and well-executed idea. Many truly unique personalities were introduced as the story progressed. At the end of the book I became ensconced in a loop of sorts so I am not certain I actually completed it. There is a list in the beginning of the book to guide a reader that chooses to read in a non-sequential order, but it is chapter titles, which do not appear in the book, so of limited use. Despite that, I enjoyed the book. It is unusual to read something so totally creative. It was interesting to get to know the people written about and how their lives changed after their own crossing. Glimpses into different times in history as the souls travelled. It was an experience that I was happy to have; a journey I was happy to take. I recommend it if you are up for something different and challenging.
I was invited to read a free ARC of Crossings by Netgalley. All opinions and interpretations contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #crossings
First let me say, this book can be read two different ways. The first from page 1 to the end, like most books. The Second way is the baroness way, which is by skipping around the book. I read it the first way, that will probably go back and read it again the other way.
A mystery book and a love story, that kept my attention. I do read some love stories, but mainly crime and mysteries, but I loved this book. It takes you across centuries, from when the world was just being discovered to WWII. The characters are well developed throughout. This book will take you away from this crazy world we are leaving living in at this time.
I highly recommend you read this book. I plan on going back later and reading the other way. I am sure I will see things I missed the first time. Read it anyway you want to, and I hope you enjoy it like I did.
Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and author for the book for my honest review and opinion.
In this debut historical novel, a Parisian bookbinder is given a commission his long-time patron to bind a manuscript, but he had to promise not to read the manuscript. Soon after agreeing to his patron’s demands, she is found dead. When no one from her family demands the return of the manuscript, the bookbinder assumes ownership of the manuscript. When he begins reading the manuscript, he finds notes from his patron that the book must be read in a particular sequence that is not traditional. Today’s reader is also given that option.
Regardless of what sequence you read the book, it is truly remarkable. It is creative and complex, the characters are remarkable, but even more stunning is that the author was able to write such a multi-faceted book that truly can be read either in sequence (cover to cover) or using the Baroness sequence where the reader starts on page 150 and then jumps around throughout the book without losing track of where he is and without diluting the story itself.
If you love historical novels with time-travel elements as well as romantic elements, and you’re looking for a book to become truly engrossed in, then this is the book for you and it deserves a place at the top of your to-be-read list.
My thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Edelweiss for an eARC.
I enjoyed this book. Not really in the conventional sense of, “gee, what a joy to read”, but in the terrific way it is laid out and the flow of this guy’s writing. I wanted to drink it.
This book can be read two different ways. One is the normal, turn-to-the-next-page. The other is kind of like following a map. You are instructed to “go here” and read where the link takes you (the ebook version, obviously). I decided to start out with the latter because I was intrigued by the set up and reminded of the choose your own mystery books of the 70s and 80s. So I was taken on an adventure. And I loved it. And then I read it AGAIN using the next-page method. And wow.
I devoured it a second time and, while it seemed familiar, it did not seem like something I’d just finished a couple weeks ago. I’ve never read a book twice in such quick succession. But I highly recommend it. Alex Landragin has a way with words and I want to read more. I believe I’ll be buying this one in hard copy as well so I can add to my read-again book collection.
I was selected to read this book before it’s official publication in return for an honest review. Go read this book. Then read it again.
This was a tough book for me. I’m an avid book reader of many genres. Being a voracious reader, this book with it’s slow beginning is already a hard way to start off a book. It’s a very convoluted and intricate plot full of history and mysticism that it takes a lot to follow along with this story. But wait, it’s three stories tied in one. Each, one different but yet flows into the next story in a strange way that it’s hard to tell one character’s narrative from the last as the character “crossings” through time.
For me this book, the hardest part is that with each crossing, through the “transmigration of souls”, life-force the was residing in the body is “switched”. To me all I could see is these selfish people taking over the bodies of other people and put them in their old, dying bodies. It was creepy. So while the concept is unique, I couldn’t get over it.
Also, this was a hard book for me to get engaged in. I tried skipping around, like some others recommended, but I still found the same problem. Each story left me with with an overly heavy description of the historical situation, but not in a way that makes me what to learn more about history. It’s more of a forced historical perceptive rather than living through the characters eyes. So for me it was superficial, no immersion into the story. I know just couldn’t finish this book. I have so many books I want to read and only one life to read them and I’m not going to force myself to make it to the end of a story engage when I’m so displeased with the journey. I know that others really enjoyed this book, but for me it was a no.
** I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review. **
Crossings by Alex Landragin is an ingenious piece of art that simply cannot be labeled as just under one genre.
This book is part fiction, part historical fiction, part paranormal, part suspense, all wrapped up together into a masterpiece.
When the reader begins to read this book they find that they need to decide one of two ways to read through the pages to find out the true plot and ending. It would actually be useful to read it both ways, but it doesn’t matter how one uncovers the plot, it is the journey that is delicious. That is not to say that the final product isn’t tasty, it is just that adding all the ingredients together is just as exciting and worthwhile. As the reader continues on, they find how the three stories that at first seem completely different, all interweaving into the finished product.
Just pure brilliance. So unique and so unforgettable.
5/5 stars!!!!