Crossings
A Novel
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3.8 • 17 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
"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 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.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Landragin careens through time, space, and multiple genres in his ambitious, sparkling debut. The reader is given a choice in the preface by the first of many narrators, a Paris bookbinder who claims to have discovered a manuscript: read it cover to cover, or follow mysterious instructions for zigzagging through three separate narratives. One of these is purportedly a lost story written by the poet Charles Baudelaire. Another follows doomed lovers, a mysterious woman named Madeleine and a man who may or may not be the German-Jewish writer Walter Benjamin, searching for Baudelaire's lost manuscript on the eve of the Nazi occupation of Paris. The third is told by a pre-colonial south sea island magus who travels through history via the souls of others, including Baudelaire and Madeleine, to link the three stories together. Landragin colors each section with playful references to other historical figures, from French navigator Etienne Marchand to Coco Chanel and Arthur Koestler. While tacking back and forth through the three narratives is going to require more effort than some readers will be willing to give, the author has a talent for injecting intrigue and answers into his literary puzzle at all the right moments while deepening themes of memory and migration. Landragin's seductive literary romp shines as a celebration of the act of storytelling.
Customer Reviews
Unique concept
What a unique concept and story. Crossings deals with a rare manuscript, supposedly written, in his own hand, by Charles Baudelaire. Tragedy follows anyone who has had hands on the manuscript. One of the wild concepts of this tale, is the fact that it can be read in two different formats. From the first to the last page, or as I read it, jumping around in an alternate manner. Of course, if you read it one way, you might be tempted (as I am) to read it the other way as well. Apparently it will be an entirely different story.
The reading while jumping around can be challenging, as you have to keep the threads of many years and multiple characters from unraveling in your brain. Reading from beginning to end, though, felt more difficult, as the story reads more slowly, in my opinion, that way.
There are famous characters in this novel, and well-known themes. Coco Chanel makes an appearance as the head of The Baudelaire Society, as well as Baudelaire’s real life muse, Jeanne Duval. The story visits the deep south with a French artist and the invasion of Paris during World War II.
It is a fascinating read, thoughtful and beautifully written.