Available July 28, 2020

Thanks to Alex Landragin, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for providing me with a digital advance copy of this astonishing novel. This book is a bit hard to describe so I’m going to quote the official description from Amazon, which probably sums it up best:

“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.”

I was drawn in from the very first page and had trouble putting the book down until I finished. I chose to read the alternate pagination, which was interesting but sometimes confusing. Now that I’ve finished the novel, I’m inclined to read it again straight through.

I loved this story. The writing was captivating and the historical detail seemed authentic. My only complaint is that the ending left me hanging. I had hoped for a more definitive conclusion. Maybe there’s a sequel in the works? One can hope!

I highly recommend this inventive, wonderful novel. Put it on your list for Summer 2020!