Crossings

Books | Fiction / Literary

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Alex Landragin

"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.

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More Details:

Author

Alex Landragin

Pages

384

Publisher

St. Martin's Publishing Group

Published Date

2020-07-28

ISBN

1250259053 9781250259059

Community ReviewsSee all

"I've never read anything like this book! It's such a cool concept, I had to read it twice "

M O

Maria O

"This book is truly like what the reviews on the cover, etc., say; INCREDIBLY mysterious/puzzling and a thrilling plot with a big plot around “the window to the soul”. It is hard to understand a little at first because of the way the story starts BUT this is a well-written and AMAZING book that was EYE-opening to me! The second half will definitely surprise you as it did for me but was very interesting! 11/10, loved this!! Gonna read it again too because it’s THAT good!"

Hannah

"I would give an arm and a leg to read this book for the first time again. I truly have never read anything else like it. It’s so full of whimsy, influences questions of the heart, and is a remarkably clever little book. "

C K

Cassidy King

"Just started reading in the 'baronnesse's sequence'. So interesting to be able to read a book in two different ways, which is to say not front to back. Excited to see what unfolds! Might have to just read it twice!"

C P

Christina Pollick

"Amazing book!!!"

G S

Gizem Sozen