Anne Michaels is, to me, a favourite and not nearly prolific enough writer. Her Fugitive Pieces remains an all-time favourite novel (might be time for a re-reading). Her second novel, Winter Vault, was not as good, both empirically and by comparison. With Held, she has burst out again as brilliant IMHO. Her writing style is not for everyone. It is poetic (understandably, since that’s her main milieu) and lyrical, leaving narrative behind often to go into the thoughts and spirits of the characters. “Story” is a loose term for her.
In this novel, there are several interwoven stories across space and time. Ranging from 1908 Paris through to a future time in Finland, we read stories that link creatives with scientists, parents with children, lovers with each other. Across all times and locations, the near or distant impact and trauma of war and conflict are just below the surface. As each story unfolds and the novel progresses, the connections between the characters are revealed, in a way showing how small the world can be and the role of serendipity – how we often don’t recognize how a moment or choice can be very significant. On the creative side, there are photographers, painters, musicians, but photographers are the clearest thread here. Whether capturing history or ghosts, photographs can capture the truth of a moment, the history of a place, or a personal memory. On the science side, there are nurses and doctors, as well as Marie Curie at both the height of success and depths of difficulty.
One of my joys with Michaels’ writing is the wandering narrative, patiently enjoying the lovely language and the painful and complex people. The threads do come together, and along the way there are mysteries and questions for the reader the encourage introspection and thinking beyond the story.
Fate: I’ll hang on to this, as I imagine reading it again to get even more out of it.
4 – published in 2023
8 – female author
20 – one-word title
28 – old favourite author
33 – Canadian
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