Book description
SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE AND THE GILLER PRIZE • A breathtaking and ineffable new novel from the author of the international best sellers Fugitive Pieces and The Winter Vault—a novel of love and loyalty across generations, at once sweeping and intimate
1917. On a battlefield near the River Escaut,…
Why read it?
1 author picked Held as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
My journey with Held was layered: slow-reveal artistry that demands patience and surrender. Initially, its fragmented, poetic style made it hard to find a tidy narrative thread—it was only after I listened to the audiobook, and in doing so, unlocked its cadence. The shift in medium with the authors rhythms and inflections, transformed the prose into something tactile, almost felt, like a cashmere blanket. What at first glance seemed disjointed on the page became, through Anne Michael's voice, a tapestry of truths woven across time. This book won Canada's top literary prize, The Giller. Had it not won, I might…
If you love Held...
December on 5C4
Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!
On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…
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