Crossings by Alex Landragin

 

Crossings is a historical love story with supernatural elements, but what got the attention of most reviewers was the unconventional structure. The novel consists of three parts, narrated by three different characters, that can be read in order or by jumping around from section to section, following a set order of page numbers. I think rather too much was made of this, though; were you to republish the book following the latter order, you'd have a novel that interweaves the stories of different characters in different times and settings -- a structure used all the time in fiction.

But the story itself is a good one. At it's core, it's about a Polynesian woman, a member of a tribe that can transfer souls from one body to another, struggling to find the soul of her lover (unwillingly "crossed" into the body of a European explorer). As she follows traces of him, she experiences a number of lifetimes -- a French sailor, a Louisiana slave-owner, a hideously disfigured woman, so on. Several real people get caught up in the chase, too, most notably Charles Baudelaire (providing an explanation for his real world fate) and Coco Chanel (fittingly a villain, given she was a Nazi collaborator in real life) (why aren't more people outraged by that?). The story plays with notions of gender, race, colonialism, and economic disparities, but ultimately Landragin is concerned with telling a good story. 

There are flaws; in addition to the structure not mattering as much as it seems, the aforementioned villain is relegated to the background for most of the novel, and that story line is left unresolved by the end of the novel (both ends). While I like the idea that the characters will be continuing their journeys, rather than everything being tied up in a neat little bow, I think the villain needed a to be a bit more present in the story. 

Ultimately, though, the outcome -- of either the love story or the villain's plot  -- don't matter as much. I described this as a love story initially, but really it's about the human capacity for reinvention. As Alula herself admits, as the years pass she begins to revel in the experiences she has, the places she is able to go, the people she is able to become. Her decisions are ethically questionable at times, if not outright immoral, but watching her navigate the years is entertaining. 

I was inspired by the book to make a necklace! 

Eyes are crucial to the book's method of soul migration, and as I read I kept thinking of the eye cabochons I received from a Blueberry Cove Beads box years ago. Once I was done with the book I rooted around in my stash and found a pendant with a map of Paris (a central location in the book) that I hadn't found a use for. A pink flower bead to recall the Polynesian island where the story began was the finishing touch.