Young Jakob Beer is the sole survivor of his family’s massacre for the simple reason he was still small enough to hide in the wall when the Germans arrived, shooting and killing his father and mother. Of his older sister Bella, who was too big to climb into the wall, there is no trace. Jakob flees the city, traveling by night, burying himself in the earth during the day, to avoid detection. He is only able to escape German occupied Poland when Greek archeologist Athos Roussos smuggles him past the checkpoints, hiding Jakob inside his clothes. Athos takes Jakob home to Greece and hides him on the island Zakynthos until the war finally ends. While German soldiers patrol the streets of Greece and wreck havoc on their Jewish ghettos, Jakob remains hidden in the upper story of Athos’ home, with Athos teaching him from an extensive classical library. At the end of the war, Jakob is pale and weak, having seen the sun from windows only for years. But his youth is in his favour as he quickly bounces back, regaining health and strength. Together, he and Athos make their way to Canada and a new life. They settle in Toronto where Athos has secured a job teaching at the University of Toronto.
In Fugitive Pieces, author Anne Michaels explores the theme of memory in quite a unique way, I think. How do our memories define our present selves? Our future? As the years pass and Jakob matures into a young adult he is haunted by the images of his childhood, the death of his family, the memory of his sister Bella, a gifted pianist who held so much promise, who was cut down in life at such a young age. Jakob’s memories haunt his present and impact his future, particularly his relationships until he can come to terms with the deaths of his loved ones. Peppered throughout are images of the horrors of the Holocaust, keeping fresh for us, the reader, the tragic waste and needless death of that moment in history.
Jakob’s story is riveting, but Michaels branches off towards the latter part of the novel, and I find the novel falls apart a bit as suddenly the protagonist shifts from Jakob to Ben, the child of Holocaust survivors. Ben has briefly met Jakob, been drawn to his story, and following Jakob’s death, is haunted by the need to know more about Jakob then has been shared with the world in Jakob’s poetry collection. The interesting thing about Ben’s story is how his own life (past, present and future) have been affected by his parents’ experience. Survivors of the Holocaust who immigrated to Canada, they live their lives in constant fear of the Germans banging on the door, of taking them away, separating their family, of losing each other. Ben, born after the war, tries, but cannot fully understand what they experienced and how it shaped their future. Only after their death, when well-hidden secrets emerge does he begin to glimpse what their daily lives must have been like.
Michaels does a creditable job of humanizing the horrors of the Holocaust though I would have wished she had seen Jakob’s story through to the end instead of branching off so completely into Ben’s. However, this book is gripping nonetheless, one I had trouble putting down. Michaels’ lyrical prose will draw you in with characters and stories that come alive. This book was recommended to me by the bookseller at Juniper Books on Ottawa Street, as, in his opinion, “the best Canadian fiction book ever written.” I have to admit, despite Michael’s choppy ending, I heartily agree that I would rank this novel among my top five all time CanLit books.
Well dear readers, this concludes my TBR bookcase challenge (which I didn’t strictly adhere to as I have purchased the occasional book since starting this challenge). However, I am happy to say I read 5 books from my tbr bookcase that I otherwise would not have read without this challenge, so I guess a lesson is learned … if I want to accomplish something, I’m going to have to set a concrete goal. Stay tuned for new challenge postings in January. I only have a whole 5 shelf bookcase full of TBR’s to get through…..oops. J
Oh and for those of you following along, this book also counts as my CanLit read for October. Yay! I love a two-fer book. Now I just have to pick a November book. Oy.
Till next time, happy reading!
L
"Like other ghosts, [Bella] whispers; not for me to join her, but so that, when I'm close enough, she can push me back into the world."
~ Anne Michaels, Fugitive Pieces
