Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels

Fugitive Pieces

Anne Michaels

A demanding but worthwhile read. It deals with the emotional aftermath of the holocaust and embraces loss and suffering, love and friendship and the triumph of the human spirit. The beauty stays with you a long time after, even though it's harrowing.







Extract
The wall filled with smoke. I struggled out and stared while the air caught fire.
I wanted to go to my parents, to touch them. But I couldn't, unless I stepped on their blood.
The soul leaves the body instantly, as if it can hardly wait to be free: my mother's face was not her own. My father was twisted with falling. Two shapes in the flesh-heap, his hands.







Parallels
  • The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
  • Sophie's Choice by William Styron
  • Schindler's Ark by Thomas Keneally