RaveThe Sydney Morning Herald (AUS)The list of books within books and stories within stories is a surprisingly hefty one and Paris-based, Australian-born bookbinder, Alex Landragin, adds to it with this absorbing evocation of distinct historical periods and star-crossed lovers shot through with existential and philosophical modes of storytelling ... a compelling volume consisting of several rare and highly sought after fictional literary texts ... wily, complex, largely fascinating ... Suffused with myriad incarnations of the mystical and spiritual, as well as the grimy and gritty, Crossings achieves its metafictional literary goals and then some, offering up an excursion through time, human existence, philosophy, psychology, poetry, history and literature ... many, and convincing, richly rewarding tales ... Like the literary embodiment of a set of brightly painted Russian matryoshka nesting dolls, Landragin has succeeded in writing a multilayered work of speculative fiction that, at its best, had me thinking of David Mitchell’s experimental and engrossing Cloud Atlas ... Just as the dolls fit into one another, Crossings all makes sense at the end, neatly and satisfactorily resolving its multiple narrative threads and possibilities with grace, attention to detail and emotional acuity. No matter which narrative path a reader takes, there is no sense of confusion or dissatisfaction, just a little sadness at having to farewell such a fine book.
