This beautifully and inventive book was a delightful surprise and combines several genres (historical fiction, magical realism, suspense, etc.) into an epic story (or stories as the case may be).

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and am so pleased that I got to read it. Crossings was a very interesting book. I decided to read the book in order and am happy that I did so. The story made more and more sense as I was reading it and I never once felt confused on where the story way going. It was as if I was opening new layers with each section. The author had some truly great moments in his prose, e.g. "Now, in my syphilitic autumn, I felt like a doll dressed up for some maudlin carnival." I loved that line.

The book pulled me in right away and kept me interested until the end. I would recommend this book to anyone who's interested by the description. Very well done.

Curious, intriguing enjoyable read. From the moment I read the author's forward this chilling, suspenseful story had me hooked. Interesting premise of 3 stories interchangeable in reading order added to this unforgettable story. I read on an electronic device but would have enjoyed holding in paper form to highlight & re-read stories in different order. Crossings is a haunting tale with history and rich characters.

This was a fun book. The storyline is about a remote ancient society on an island that practices a religion where their souls cross over to another person while still alive. Not souls going anywhere in death, but while still living and always going back to the original body. There are multiple types of this that are acceptable as long as each person goes back to their own body. Then there is the one that is not acceptable-crossing with another to take their body and leaving the other person’s soul in yours and then walking away. Due to extenuating circumstances this very thing happens and the story follows through several centuries of the various individuals that become involved. The lovely twist with this book is that it can be read in two different ways. One is the traditional front to back and the other is to follow the direction given at the end of each chapter. I read the traditional way first then the other, which offers a more linear version of events. Granted, reading it the second time around wasn’t as fun because I had already read the book quite quickly. I did get a bit bored rereading the same stories I had pretty much just read. But I loved the concept of it all. And some may enjoy reading it the untraditional way as all the characters may make more sense.

A Parisian bookbinder stumbles across a manuscript containing three stories, apparently no one has anything to do with the other two, but they are in fact part of one unique story, an epic tale of love, mystery and magic.
The autor gives the reader the possibility to read the book in two ways. The more traditional, that is one novella after the other, or in a more complex and tangled way, that allows to better understand how they are actually one whole story.

I must admit, I wasn't convinced by this book at first. But as I kept reading I was captivated.
This is a book about love, about the strength of who is willing to take every risk for someone else, even if it means overturn reality itself and betray everything you've ever believed in.
I's a story about poetry, about the impossible, about journeys.
I's a story about solitude and suffering.
I's a story about faith, about faith lost and faith regained.
I's an historical journey that runs through time and countries.

Review posted also on my Goodreads, my Instagram profile and Amazon

I was very intimidated by this book at the beginning. Between the French intellectualism, World War II setting, and confusing choice of which order to read the book in, I didn’t have high hopes after the preface. I chose the Baroness’ order and dug in. I’m so glad that I stuck with it, because it was such a great book! I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was very engaging. I thought the three sets of stories were going to be hard to keep up with, but they were not at all. Huge fan of this one.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for this ARC to read and review.

I read this book straight through, without doing the make-your-own-adventure by clicking on links at the end of some chapters. It is divided into 3 sections and the same characters are found throughout the book. Maybe if I had taken notes, or made a flowchart I would have enjoyed this book more and made more sense of it. The writing is beautiful, but I had difficulties connecting with the story/characters and had to do a great deal of rereading. Jumping back and forth only confused me, but what I did understand I did enjoy, This type of story just isn’t for me, but there are a lot of people out there who would love this book.

I tried really hard to get into this book, but it just didn't happen. It was like work for me to read it, and I finally had to give up when I was 53% through with the book. Please understand, I hate to give up on a text; I'm ever hopeful that I will become interested, but with this one I just had to lay it down. So sorry

What an imaginative, fascinating book. Not only is it a good tale any way you read it, but the way the author has crafted the story defies description. Reading it is a bit like solving a puzzle. How Alex Landragin managed to weave a rich narrative that can be read in multiple ways - yet still result in a coherent, entertaining novel - is astounding. He must be an ace at three dimensional chess.

Disclaimer: Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy of this book. I have been sent a copy of this book for review purposes. This has not influenced or affected my opinions in this review.

Crossings pleasantly surprised me. This would not normally have been my cup of tea but nevertheless I enjoyed it. The interwoven three stories, which at first glance, seem completely independent fit together so well. However, I didn’t feel a great connection to this story as I normally do with books I fully enjoyed.

*3 stars*

An extraordinary book. Three written stories that can be read straightforward. Or, the stories can be read as designated by the author, in a categorically different manner.
The book finds itself in the hands of a bookbinder. The owner of the book has died so he keeps the book as his own.
The stories are all different. The great part is that they are also connected. A clever book with so many emotions.

I'm going to blame this review on the pandemic. Lately it takes a lot more punch to keep me focused.The writing was solid, the narrative interesting, but I got lost in the plot. I know I was supposed to select a route to read this book, and after about 1/3 of the book, I started to wonder what happens if I start skipping and hit the take me elsewhere link at the end of the chapter. That even distracted me more so I'm sorry to bomb on rating this one but it just didn't happen.

This is an interesting read. I had originally heard about this book around a year ago but found a copy hard to acquire for a reasonable amount of money, reasonable that is for an author of unknown quantity. The synopsis reminded me of the planning and the long view involved in that of the "7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle", which I loved. So, I was excited and grateful to see it pop up on Net Galley. One of the main reasons this book grabbed my attention was the concept that the novel can be read in two different ways. One being a straight forward front cover to back cover, and the other is the Baroness that plays a jumping around sequence in a sort of random chapter rhythm. The Baroness sequence was the option I read, after all it's not everyday that you have the ability to read a book in the manner that wouldn't normally make sense... well... sort of. I wish that I would have read this one front to back, it was a little too all over the place and somewhat random and drawn out at times. Trying to recount the way the story would have been I feel like it might have been a different read. This was a bit more high brow and more love story than my normal reading preferences. I did enjoy the opening, it built up the story really well. Overall not bad.

Unlike any other book, this novel is three stories in one that can be read from a conventional standpoint of page one to the last, but there is an alternative sequence given in a note to the reader, ostensibly written by the author of the make-believe manuscript, which twists all three storylines together in a new and unexpected manner. Clever, enthralling and intriguing in equal measure, this book delivers a mind bending experience that is truly wonderful.

It is the story of seven lifetimes, of two people in love, with one remembering the past, the other forgetting with each new lifetime and a third player who wants nothing but the destruction of the other two and is committed to playing a cat and mouse game to reach them. Koahu and Alula are the original characters that set off this chain of events, Kohua never recalling his past and Alula moving through time, reminding him time after time of his reality, desperate to shake him into awareness and understanding of their gift and responsibilities. Its possibly a touch of science fiction in this novel that it talks about metempsychosis, the supposed transmigration at the death of the soul of a human being or animal into a new body of the same or a different species and in its suggestion that a spirit can jump from one body to another, called a crossing, and live eternally. The importance of a person’s eyes is the crux of the novel, and never looking at a stranger in the eye for too long is a very important message within this book, as it is through the eyes that the crossings occur. It explores each lived life with its twists and turns, it triumphs and tragedies. The main character that carries the bulk of the story is believable and relatable, the desperation to fix the broken lines and rules and undo the harm and destruction caused by the ‘crossings’ that have occurred over time.

Landragin’s ability to write a book that can be read two ways is just remarkable and fascinating. The connections between the characters, the mixing of lives in such unexpected ways speak of his ability to plan out a book with precision and care. Reading the book in the ‘choose your own adventure’ style is a very different experience to reading it in a conventional manner, but both methods are equally satisfying and absorbing. Part historical fiction spanning 150 years, part romance, part paranormal, time travel and suspense, it truly is a remarkable novel in its genre-twisting manner. It keeps the reader is a state of the constant state of suspense, wondering how the current story is going to weave into the other stories, and it never fails to twist in such a manner as to leave you stunned at its creativity and brilliance.

This is literary fiction at its finest.

Initially I tried to read Crossings as a conventional cover-to-cover novel. I struggled through the first of the three novellas confused and disengaged. Rather than give up completely, I decided to give it another go using the 'Baroness sequence', but my expectations were low.

All I can say is, wow. What a difference a change in perspective can make. Following the modified sequence, I was fully immersed into a book that in some ways defies labelling. In parts a noir crime novel, a thriller, a mystery, a historic fiction epic spanning centuries, all taking part in a world of magical realism, this book has it all and doesn't suffer for it.

I genuinely couldn't put it down, and turned each page desperate to guess what would happen next, trying to solve each mystery as it came. The plot was enthralling and like nothing I've ever read, and the writing was full of atmosphere and tension. I also was thoroughly invested in the plight of Alula and Koahu, our main protagonists.

If I had to pick up on any flaws in this book, I'd have a few small niggles.

The set up of the book being three different novellas or a 'choose-your-own-adventure' type novel seemed gimmicky to me. Both methods of reading will give you the same story, but one will be far less satisfying, interesting or engaging as the other. I read this as an e-book, so perhaps holding a physical copy would change or add to the experience in a way a digital copy can't.

I also felt that some character motivations were unclear or inconsistent, particularly those of the antagonist and in some parts, Alula herself.

These are minor considerations, however, which did little to impact my thorough enjoyment of this exceptional novel.

But seriously, don't read it cover to cover.

ARC kindly provided by the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

What an interesting premise. This book can be read in the traditional fashion, from beginning to end, but there is also the option to read it as one of the characters suggests it should be read, which will take you from different spots to other spots in the book and give you an entirely different experience apparently. I chose to read it from beginning to end because I thought that would make knowing where I was in the process of starting to finishing the book easier for me to comprehend.
The story was very interesting, it follows numerous characters whose only relationship is that the first characters have "crossed" into the next character by a form of mesmerism in an effort to find the other character. It also loosely associated itself with the works of French poet Charles Baudelaire, of whom I had little to no knowledge prior to having read this book. I found it eye-opening, interesting and very engaging. It was interesting without being too compelling so that I might pick it up from time to time without being driven to seek it out continually. It was touching but not so overwhelmingly so that I ended the book with a book hangover, which can be a good or bad thing depending on when you talk to me!
All in all I greatly enjoyed this work and it is definitely something anyone interested in metaphysics, French history or historical fiction should pick up.

This ebook was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book intrigued me and I was excited to read it, however, I can not seem to get myself to finish it. The writing is beautiful and the story is not that bad, but I just do not feel any connection to it. I attempted to read it in the Baroness sequence and that may be what contributes to the lack of connection. There is just too much jumping around between characters without a strong relationship to each first. The ties between each story are apparent, but perhaps reading the stories in order would have kept me from becoming so distant from the narrative.

I loved the parts I was able to access but my Kindle had messed up settings. I did the alternate reading feature -- i will try again consecutively!

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, how the tale differs or how perspective changes.

Crossings begins with a bookbinder who is given a 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 chose this book for a bit of escapism. The story 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. Yes, this was escapism at its best!

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A book designed to be read in two different directions. This book is astonishing - the imagination and organization alone deserve some sort of award. First I read the Baroness pagination, which allows the book to be read out of order as a novel. I then reread it straight through as connected short stories. Either way, it is a marvel. A really compelling story (both ways) of love, loss, and the soul.

"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."

I will say the ONLY issue I had was that I read an ebook ARC (thank you NetGalley) and the links for the Baroness pagination are broken for the second half of the novel. I thought I had figured out where to go next by myself, but upon reading the book straight through, I discovered 2 sections I had not previously read. I was able to figure out where they would've fallen in the Baroness pagination. If the publisher is reading these early reviews - PLEASE fix the ebook version before publication.