Held
by Anne Michaels
I was drawn to this novel upon learning that it was longlisted for the Booker. Since I read it, it has now been shortlisted, proof that I’m not only reader struck by this relatively brief yet poetic book.
The narrative is made up of segments whose setting and subject vary from a soldier injured in a battlefield in WW1, to contemporary Finland. The opening chapter, possibly the most poignant of the book shows the soldier, clearly suffering from PTSD induced by horrific wartime experiences, trying to adapt to normal life as a portrait photographer. Incredibly, ghosts start to appear on his photographs – a sign of hope in the aftermath of the butchery of the war. But not all is what it seems. Figurative ghosts feature in the other segments, as the characters are haunted by their past and by their feelings and desires. Michaels teases out links between her protagonists, hinting at the sometimes unlikely events and connections which mark the history of each and every family.
While the structure of the book is quite innovative, and it merits
attentive reading, Held is also, at its heart, a “traditional” novel in
the best sense of the word, reflecting the stories and emotions of ordinary
human beings to whom readers can relate.
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