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ameliac3's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Love the premise. Very complex - a bit too much for me
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Colonisation
spenkevich's review against another edition
3.0
‘Will I see you again only in eternity?’
Souls traveling across time and space yearning for the other is always a good emotional nail to hang a novel upon. While it has been done before, Alex Landragin breathes new life into the conceit with his well-plotted puzzlebox of a debut novel Crossings. The novel, which tells the tale of entities that make ‘crossings’ between bodies with other’s consciousness (to tell any more would give too much away), plays with other notions of crossings both thematically and structurally. Similar to the threaded narrative in [b:Hopscotch|53413|Hopscotch|Julio Cortázar|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1367728486l/53413._SY75_.jpg|1794732] by Julio Cortazar, Crossings invites you to weave the three separate manuscripts that make up this book by following a special order. You can, if you will, choose to read it in a traditional manner or follow the page directions at the end of each chapter as if it were a guided choose-your-own adventure. While a bit of a gimmick, the trick emphasizes the crossings theme as the reader transfers back and forth between character consciousness, carrying multiple lives in their head at once as you ‘let the stories be your guide’. A charming adventure through time, Crossings looks at philosophical concerns of the soul, identity and the consequences and ethics of our actions in a fun-filled puzzle of a novel that is sure to delight.
Crossings fits into a niche category along with authors such as [a:David Mitchell|6538289|David Mitchell|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1409248688p2/6538289.jpg] that I like to term as ‘Literary Pulp’. Similar to Cloud Atlas with both books presenting multiple narrators over centuries and an innovative structure while also looking at themes of colonialism and the soul, Crossings scratches a similar itch of toying with more pulp-like narratives in a literary way by being stylized for a larger purpose. The second manuscript, for example, is a noir-romance thriller complete with sketchy nightclub meetings, detectives with uncertain motives and shadowy puppetmasters seemingly controlling the events. While unfortunately a bit light on the Literary aspects--shoehorning in literary authors as characters to give it more of a feel of literary weight than in actuality--it still seems a good general term. This book is unbelievably fun, well constructed and successfully pulls off its tricks. For a debut novel especially, Landragin is quite impressive here even if the end is a bit tidier than necessary.
The Hopscotch narrative style is rather enjoyable and adds texture to the many variations on the theme of ‘crossings’ that comprise the novel and also gives the reader a sense of embodying the disorienting lives the characters play out. Not only is this a story about a ‘soul’ of sorts crossing bodies and the consequences of the act, but also the consequences of nations crossing oceans, or also people crossing borders. The second manuscript, purportedly written by [a:Walter Benjamin|1860|Walter Benjamin|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1334719047p2/1860.jpg] in context of the novel, deals with the final days of Benjamin’s life during which he really did attempt a failed crossing out of France during the Nazi occupation. This manuscript takes on real events and fills in details to make it work for the purpose of the novel, which is quite entertaining. ‘A border is nothing but a fiction--only one that holds the power of life and death over countless people,’ Benjamin writes, a wink at the purpose of framing this section around his border crossing and how the many forms of crossings are inevitably a game of life and death.
Early in the third section--the bulk of the novel is the third section weaved throughout a rotating interplay between the first two--we find an indigenous tribe visited by French fur traders who have crossed the ocean in search of commerce. The consequences of their contact with the tribe reverberate throughout the entire novel and set the chain of events in motion. A century later we find this planted the seed of colonial imperialism and the island soon falls under French jurisdiction with a puppet King pantomiming tribal autonomy while being a port for the French empire as the secrets of the indigenous are forgotten when they trade their gods for guns.
‘The ethical value of one's actions depends on their anticipated and predictable consequences,’ wrote linguist and political theorist [a:Noam Chomsky|2476|Noam Chomsky|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1485473965p2/2476.jpg]. Any crossing that occurs in the novel is not without consequences and is laden with ethical conundrums. The primary character of the novel must often make a crossing in order to survive, but to do so is to quite literally steal a body and displace their ‘being’ into the flesh they are discarding. This often means death or, in one particularly dark moment, stealing from a youthful innocent to trap her in an aged, toothless, and monstrous form. The primary character puts their own needs first and although in later crossings they attempt to find a more ethical method of selection, they are certainly not above reproach. They know the crossings mean suffering for others, but they do so anyways and there is a chilling nihilism in this tale of body snatching that makes it a perfect read for the October spooky season. Their initial crossing also sets up a chain of events that leads to a villainous entity that gouges out the eyes of their victims and they must accept that they have created a monster. The two of them chase each other from body to body, leaving a trail of death which feels slightly akin to Octavia Butler’s [b:Wild Seed|51947057|Wild Seed|Octavia E. Butler|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1580819415l/51947057._SX50_SY75_.jpg|1330000]. However, Crossings is a love story at heart. Beneath the body snatching and murder, this is the story of one lover desperately searching their lost lover across centuries.
With all these body snatching, the notions of identity become quite blurred. Which, unfortunately, is where the book seems to miss major opportunities. While the separate manuscripts have a distinguishing voice in the first two, the third falls fairly flat despite a few anachronisms and flair. While there is some decent commentary on how socially-enforced gender rolls grant different bodies different opportunities, its more casual detail than thematic. Though this isn’t necessarily a complaint, as I’d rather it not be addressed than addressed poorly, but does seem a missed opportunity. There could have been very trans affirming moments (and, potentially a look at race) that just don’t happen, and while I won’t disparage a book for not meeting my specific requests the lack of commentary does leave a noticeable void. What does work quite well, however, is that Landragin does use this as an excellent opportunity to discuss class hierarchy and other social aspects of the body like physical attributes.
The principal character often swaps bodies for one that will grant them more freedom to travel, including financial freedom. There is an interesting interplay between physical features and finance in the character of Edmunde de Bressy, a young woman with a face so disfigured by fire that she must wear a veil at all times. Despite her appearances, her vast fortune makes her the most mobile and powerful body, an excellent commentary on how capital overrides all else in society.
The issue of body crossing does bring up the question of a soul, even if it is malleable and takes on the personality of the bodies in which it is transferred. ‘I didn’t say I believe in an afterlife,’ the character Artopoulos says late in the novel as the principal character begins to wonder if they are their adversary, ‘I believe in the existence of the soul, which is quite a different matter.’ This may, for the willing, explain an authorial decision to not differentiate the voices of our principal character much since they are a constant entity regardless of affectations of form. The issue of immortality plays out as expected, though not to any detriment, as a singular being must watch centuries pass and grasp at any meaning or purpose in life.
An interesting authorial decision in the novel is to use historical figures as main characters. Which is fun, though underutilized. For example, a key point in the novel is that Walter Benjamin visits the grave of [a:Charles Baudelaire|13847|Charles Baudelaire|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1371208630p2/13847.jpg] because he is an ‘admirer’. However, there is no real emphasis on Benjamin having been a translator of Baudelaire or how it could have worked into the novel that he had felt a strange affinity for his work because in the novel he is quite literally Baudelaire in a different body years later and doesn’t know it. It was something I waited for and was surprised it didn't occur. Having Coco Chanel be a villain was sort of fun though, leaning into her Nazi spy history. However, the attributes of historical figures felt underused and mostly for convenient name checks such as giving an in-novel backstory to Baudelaire’s relationship with Jeanne Duval and I wonder if the novel would have worked just as well, or even better, had Landragin used entirely fictional characters. It is still really fun, just seems like there was more potential than effect.
The potential to effect ratio does underserve the novel, which at worst is still a really delightful good time. Particularly for a debut novel that relies heavily on conceit, this novel shines in readability and entertainment where it seems unnecessarily critical to call the tricks a gimmick. It helps, too, that Landragin really sticks the landing and the book wraps up wonderfully. It even teases that you, the reader, might be a player in its great mystery. Crossings is well written, very well plotted and hits so many sweet spots that the shortcomings are easy to gloss over. I personally enjoyed the rather sinister attitudes of the main crosser when it came to ethics, it made the book feel grimy in a fun way. While it falls short of Cloud Atlas, this is an excellent choice for fans of David Mitchell--which is particularly amusing as it was released in close proximity to Mitchell’s newest novel and feels more in-cannon and successfully worked than Mitchell’s own novel. A ghost story, a noir, a romance and a anti-colonialist epic, Crossings is an impressive debut that outshines its flaws.
3.5/5
‘added your story to the book of legends that they carried around in the libraries of their mind’
Souls traveling across time and space yearning for the other is always a good emotional nail to hang a novel upon. While it has been done before, Alex Landragin breathes new life into the conceit with his well-plotted puzzlebox of a debut novel Crossings. The novel, which tells the tale of entities that make ‘crossings’ between bodies with other’s consciousness (to tell any more would give too much away), plays with other notions of crossings both thematically and structurally. Similar to the threaded narrative in [b:Hopscotch|53413|Hopscotch|Julio Cortázar|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1367728486l/53413._SY75_.jpg|1794732] by Julio Cortazar, Crossings invites you to weave the three separate manuscripts that make up this book by following a special order. You can, if you will, choose to read it in a traditional manner or follow the page directions at the end of each chapter as if it were a guided choose-your-own adventure. While a bit of a gimmick, the trick emphasizes the crossings theme as the reader transfers back and forth between character consciousness, carrying multiple lives in their head at once as you ‘let the stories be your guide’. A charming adventure through time, Crossings looks at philosophical concerns of the soul, identity and the consequences and ethics of our actions in a fun-filled puzzle of a novel that is sure to delight.
Crossings fits into a niche category along with authors such as [a:David Mitchell|6538289|David Mitchell|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1409248688p2/6538289.jpg] that I like to term as ‘Literary Pulp’. Similar to Cloud Atlas with both books presenting multiple narrators over centuries and an innovative structure while also looking at themes of colonialism and the soul, Crossings scratches a similar itch of toying with more pulp-like narratives in a literary way by being stylized for a larger purpose. The second manuscript, for example, is a noir-romance thriller complete with sketchy nightclub meetings, detectives with uncertain motives and shadowy puppetmasters seemingly controlling the events. While unfortunately a bit light on the Literary aspects--shoehorning in literary authors as characters to give it more of a feel of literary weight than in actuality--it still seems a good general term. This book is unbelievably fun, well constructed and successfully pulls off its tricks. For a debut novel especially, Landragin is quite impressive here even if the end is a bit tidier than necessary.
The Hopscotch narrative style is rather enjoyable and adds texture to the many variations on the theme of ‘crossings’ that comprise the novel and also gives the reader a sense of embodying the disorienting lives the characters play out. Not only is this a story about a ‘soul’ of sorts crossing bodies and the consequences of the act, but also the consequences of nations crossing oceans, or also people crossing borders. The second manuscript, purportedly written by [a:Walter Benjamin|1860|Walter Benjamin|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1334719047p2/1860.jpg] in context of the novel, deals with the final days of Benjamin’s life during which he really did attempt a failed crossing out of France during the Nazi occupation. This manuscript takes on real events and fills in details to make it work for the purpose of the novel, which is quite entertaining. ‘A border is nothing but a fiction--only one that holds the power of life and death over countless people,’ Benjamin writes, a wink at the purpose of framing this section around his border crossing and how the many forms of crossings are inevitably a game of life and death.
Early in the third section--the bulk of the novel is the third section weaved throughout a rotating interplay between the first two--we find an indigenous tribe visited by French fur traders who have crossed the ocean in search of commerce. The consequences of their contact with the tribe reverberate throughout the entire novel and set the chain of events in motion. A century later we find this planted the seed of colonial imperialism and the island soon falls under French jurisdiction with a puppet King pantomiming tribal autonomy while being a port for the French empire as the secrets of the indigenous are forgotten when they trade their gods for guns.
‘The ethical value of one's actions depends on their anticipated and predictable consequences,’ wrote linguist and political theorist [a:Noam Chomsky|2476|Noam Chomsky|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1485473965p2/2476.jpg]. Any crossing that occurs in the novel is not without consequences and is laden with ethical conundrums. The primary character of the novel must often make a crossing in order to survive, but to do so is to quite literally steal a body and displace their ‘being’ into the flesh they are discarding. This often means death or, in one particularly dark moment, stealing from a youthful innocent to trap her in an aged, toothless, and monstrous form. The primary character puts their own needs first and although in later crossings they attempt to find a more ethical method of selection, they are certainly not above reproach. They know the crossings mean suffering for others, but they do so anyways and there is a chilling nihilism in this tale of body snatching that makes it a perfect read for the October spooky season. Their initial crossing also sets up a chain of events that leads to a villainous entity that gouges out the eyes of their victims and they must accept that they have created a monster. The two of them chase each other from body to body, leaving a trail of death which feels slightly akin to Octavia Butler’s [b:Wild Seed|51947057|Wild Seed|Octavia E. Butler|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1580819415l/51947057._SX50_SY75_.jpg|1330000]. However, Crossings is a love story at heart. Beneath the body snatching and murder, this is the story of one lover desperately searching their lost lover across centuries.
With all these body snatching, the notions of identity become quite blurred. Which, unfortunately, is where the book seems to miss major opportunities. While the separate manuscripts have a distinguishing voice in the first two, the third falls fairly flat despite a few anachronisms and flair. While there is some decent commentary on how socially-enforced gender rolls grant different bodies different opportunities, its more casual detail than thematic. Though this isn’t necessarily a complaint, as I’d rather it not be addressed than addressed poorly, but does seem a missed opportunity. There could have been very trans affirming moments (and, potentially a look at race) that just don’t happen, and while I won’t disparage a book for not meeting my specific requests the lack of commentary does leave a noticeable void. What does work quite well, however, is that Landragin does use this as an excellent opportunity to discuss class hierarchy and other social aspects of the body like physical attributes.
‘Character is destiny, according to Shakespeare. And yet our bodies, above all our faces, are so bound up with how others perceive us, one might say that, especially for a woman, they are just as powerful an influence over our destinies. Our faces influence the perceptions others hold of us, and those perceptions influence, in turn, our character.’
The principal character often swaps bodies for one that will grant them more freedom to travel, including financial freedom. There is an interesting interplay between physical features and finance in the character of Edmunde de Bressy, a young woman with a face so disfigured by fire that she must wear a veil at all times. Despite her appearances, her vast fortune makes her the most mobile and powerful body, an excellent commentary on how capital overrides all else in society.
The issue of body crossing does bring up the question of a soul, even if it is malleable and takes on the personality of the bodies in which it is transferred. ‘I didn’t say I believe in an afterlife,’ the character Artopoulos says late in the novel as the principal character begins to wonder if they are their adversary, ‘I believe in the existence of the soul, which is quite a different matter.’ This may, for the willing, explain an authorial decision to not differentiate the voices of our principal character much since they are a constant entity regardless of affectations of form. The issue of immortality plays out as expected, though not to any detriment, as a singular being must watch centuries pass and grasp at any meaning or purpose in life.
An interesting authorial decision in the novel is to use historical figures as main characters. Which is fun, though underutilized. For example, a key point in the novel is that Walter Benjamin visits the grave of [a:Charles Baudelaire|13847|Charles Baudelaire|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1371208630p2/13847.jpg] because he is an ‘admirer’. However, there is no real emphasis on Benjamin having been a translator of Baudelaire or how it could have worked into the novel that he had felt a strange affinity for his work because in the novel he is quite literally Baudelaire in a different body years later and doesn’t know it. It was something I waited for and was surprised it didn't occur. Having Coco Chanel be a villain was sort of fun though, leaning into her Nazi spy history. However, the attributes of historical figures felt underused and mostly for convenient name checks such as giving an in-novel backstory to Baudelaire’s relationship with Jeanne Duval and I wonder if the novel would have worked just as well, or even better, had Landragin used entirely fictional characters. It is still really fun, just seems like there was more potential than effect.
The potential to effect ratio does underserve the novel, which at worst is still a really delightful good time. Particularly for a debut novel that relies heavily on conceit, this novel shines in readability and entertainment where it seems unnecessarily critical to call the tricks a gimmick. It helps, too, that Landragin really sticks the landing and the book wraps up wonderfully. It even teases that you, the reader, might be a player in its great mystery. Crossings is well written, very well plotted and hits so many sweet spots that the shortcomings are easy to gloss over. I personally enjoyed the rather sinister attitudes of the main crosser when it came to ethics, it made the book feel grimy in a fun way. While it falls short of Cloud Atlas, this is an excellent choice for fans of David Mitchell--which is particularly amusing as it was released in close proximity to Mitchell’s newest novel and feels more in-cannon and successfully worked than Mitchell’s own novel. A ghost story, a noir, a romance and a anti-colonialist epic, Crossings is an impressive debut that outshines its flaws.
3.5/5
‘added your story to the book of legends that they carried around in the libraries of their mind’
anteus7's review against another edition
5.0
When given the opportunity to read a book in a non-traditional way, of course, I jumped at it. I was not disappointed.
There are (at least) two ways to read this book. The traditional from-the-start-to-the-end way one does and the follow-the-breadcrumbs (page numbers to turn to at the end of each section) way. Read the second way, the story still unfolds in a mostly linear way, you just get to see it from different perspectives along the way. I'm planning on skimming back over it in the normal way one reads a book to see if that makes any difference to me.
This book reminds me a lot of several others that I like very much. There are pieces that made me think of David Mitchell's Bone Clocks (and Slade House) and Cloud Atlas, there is a bit of Reverte-Perez's Club Dumas, and some of the flavor of Zafon's Cemetary of Forgotten books. It reminded me of these things while still being very much its own animal.
Highly recommended!
There are (at least) two ways to read this book. The traditional from-the-start-to-the-end way one does and the follow-the-breadcrumbs (page numbers to turn to at the end of each section) way. Read the second way, the story still unfolds in a mostly linear way, you just get to see it from different perspectives along the way. I'm planning on skimming back over it in the normal way one reads a book to see if that makes any difference to me.
This book reminds me a lot of several others that I like very much. There are pieces that made me think of David Mitchell's Bone Clocks (and Slade House) and Cloud Atlas, there is a bit of Reverte-Perez's Club Dumas, and some of the flavor of Zafon's Cemetary of Forgotten books. It reminded me of these things while still being very much its own animal.
Highly recommended!
ellaholzhei's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
anti_formalist12's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
brandidean's review against another edition
3.0
Rounded up to 3. Clever idea, but I think the book suffered a bit in trying to make it work. I read it straight through, which at least made it easy to follow. But it made the ending pretty flat. Even if you read it the other way, though, a lot would be left hanging. And I didn’t understand why he was using real people in it. That makes less sense the more I think about it. I also just didn’t like any of the characters, so that didn’t help.
swivelhead's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
The book has a very clever gimmick and construction that I have never seen before, pretty neat.
kylemhaggerty's review against another edition
Plot felt predictable and action was slow