Jakob, as a small boy, escapes death by soldiers in 1940s Poland, the sole survivor of his Jewish family. He is rescued by a Greek man, himself the only survivor of a group of archaeologists working on the Biskupin dig. Both are haunted by the dead and are trying to deal with their own survival. Jakob turns to poetry and Athos to his histories.

They move from Athos' home in Greece to Canada with Athos' work, but for Jakob, the dreams of his family won't leave him. He meets Alex, a vibrant Canadian, who tries to draw him out of the past, but Jakob seems to retreat further away from her.

The book talks of loss, the guilts of survival, the repercussions of the past on those who didn't live through it, but are no less affected by it. The fear that seems to be passed down through a mother's milk, also the loss.

Many books dealing with the Holocaust end after the liberation of the camps, but this book takes us further, reminding us of the effects that can still be felt today.

I usually read books very quickly, but this one that I had to slow down with, read it in parts, to be able to take it all in. I am sure it is one of those books that will remain with me for a long time. ( )

Stunningly poetic and moving. ( )

"Time is a blind guide."

I'll get right to the point: I was disappointed with Fugitive Pieces. Most of the book is the story of Jakob, who is orphaned during the holocaust, and taken in by a Greek scholar named Athos. After the war they move to Canada, and Jakob grows up to become a poet. Then, about 2/3 of the way through the book, the narrative shifts to Ben, a young professor whose life briefly intersects with Jakob's.

I had high expectations for this Orange Prize winner written by a well-known poet. The language was, indeed, lovely. Jakob's story in particular was well told and poignant in parts. But that wasn't enough for me. By and large, I failed to identify with the characters, and didn't care much about the outcome of their lives and relationships. ( )

A reverie, sometimes dreamy, sometimes nightmarish, with images of the Holocaust, experienced first hand by the first narrator, Jakob. About 3/4 of the way through the book, the narrator changes to Ben, whose parents survived the Holocaust. Two troubled, brilliant men attempting to sort out their lives. At times the book is difficult to follow, but her writing is quite amazing. Not a linear read by any means! I admire this book, but did not love it. ( )

I have never been so bewitched and confused by a novel as I was reading Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels. Michaels poetically told the story of Jakob Beer, a poet himself, who survived the Holocaust after being rescued by a Greek geologist. The first part of Fugitive Pieces depicted Jakob’s life as a young man, living in Greece and Canada. The second half of the book was the narrative of Ben, an admirer of Jakob’s poetry, whose personal life was spiraling out of control.

Jakob and Ben share many parallels – both were affected by the Holocaust, survivors’ guilt and a strangling inability to show their love. For me, Jakob’s story was more fascinating. His nightmarish grip on dealing with his sister’s death was haunting. His love for Athos, his surrogate father, and his second wife, Michaela, showed hope. And his recollections of World War II were heart-breaking. All in all, his tale was more humanizing.

To find these story lines, though, the reader must wade through Michaels’ prose. To say it was beautifully written would be an understatement. However, there were times when I read a paragraph and scratched my head, wondering why it was part of the book. The meandering prose was distracting only because I could not fit it into the larger storyline. Perhaps Fugitive Pieces is a book best read twice.

With that said, I can’t say I regret reading Fugitive Pieces, but it’s definitely not a book for everyone. I usually recommend a book based on other titles or genres, but I can’t for Fugitive Pieces. It stands alone as a beautiful but tangled book about love, loss and the power of the human spirit. ( )

In 1940, Greek geologist Athos was digging in a war-stricken Polish city when a small boy emerged from the mud; no one realized that he was alive until he started to cry. Jakob was only seven years old and his entire family had been taken and probably killed by the Nazis. Athos decides to risk his own life by taking the boy home to Greece, where they settle, hide, starve, but begin to know each other and develop a relationship and education. We follow Jakob into adulthood, watching him write poetry that reflects their haunted past as well as their uncertain future.

This book may have been slightly too literary for me. I loved the idea of the story but I’m never all that fond of books told in abstracts. Perhaps I read it too soon after The English Patient, which I still haven’t found the words to review; both books are similar in their slow exploration of the effects of war on people’s psyche and in their meandering focus on people rather than plot. I’m not sure I’m always in a mood for such a read. A week later, however, I find myself pondering this book, wondering about Jakob.

Jakob’s transition from lost and lonely boy to educated, confident, loving man is quite a fascinating one. We first witness Jakob’s life, then the life of another man who is significantly influenced by him and by the war. There are multiple threads running through the novel; perhaps the most important, I felt, were the bonds of love. Jakob loves Athos; he loves his wives; he loves his parents and perhaps most especially, he loves his lost sister Bella, who he manages to carry in his heart throughout his life.

I was a bit perplexed by the addition of the second character in the final 100 pages of the book. I wasn’t as interested in him as I was in Jakob. I can see the parallels between them and I understand the effect of showing the significance Jakob had after his death, but I felt there were unanswered questions and I wanted the answers. This book would be better read with other people in order to think and discuss more closely its literary significance. I’m sure there is a great deal here that I am not picking up on my own. I’m planning to read it again and see what I can find the next time.

http://chikune.com/blog/?p=1067 ( )

Upon finishing, I cannot say what the book is about, or who the main characters are. It even is not clear whether the "I" of the first-person narrative is a man or a woman. There is no discernable plot, at least not a plot that moves foreward. There are reminicences, evocations, aforisms, observations, but very little direction. Th book most seems a stream-of-concious poetic flow of free thoughts and associations. However, the language, while beautiful, is often meaningless. ( )

Fugitive Pieces is a novel about a young boy (Jakob Beer) who hides in a cupboard while his family is massacred by the Nazis. He roams the forest and scavenges for food in some vaguely described manner, until he is discovered and saved by a Greek named Athos, which all happens in the first 13 pages. From that point on the book is basically about Jakob’s sorrow, his difficulty in readjusting to a new life. Eventually Athos dies and Jakob travels back to his home town and writes poetry. Then, abruptly, Jakob’s story ends, and suddenly halfway through the book, a new person named Ben is the primary character. Ben has his own obscure problems; and after informing the reader that Jakob is dead, (with an, "oh, by the way, Jakob died"), Ben finds solace and healing in reading Jakob’s poetry.

I bought this book to add to my collection of Holocaust Survivor stories; the most treasured books in my library. I am sorry to say, this book did not live up to the accolades so richly bestowed upon it. In fact, I could not even finish it. Like some modern art; it was abrupt, bold, and abstract. The characters had no substance or depth. The plot was sparse and fragmented. How could it have won so many awards? Could it possibly have brought tears to anyone’s eyes? I can only imagine that Anne Michaels’ flowery prose must have mesmerized a select audience. Her non-stop litany of metaphors camouflaged the weak plot. Open to most any page and you will find phases like:
- Irony is scissors, a divining rod, always pointing in two directions
- His arteries silted up like an old river. The heart is a fistful of earth. The heart is a lake
- One can look deeply into meaning or one can invent it
- Athos' backward glance gave me a backward hope
- Like a musical score, when you read a weather map you are reading time
- There’s a precise moment when we reject contradiction. This moment is the lie we will live by.

All pretty words….but no genuine feeling. If you were to eliminate all the metaphors it would be an insignificant short story. Anne Michaels should stick to poetry.

If you want to read some truly meaningful Holocaust survivor stories try these:
The Alchemy of Survival by: Mack Rogers
Babi Yar by: A. Anatoli
Treblinka by: Jean-Francois Steiner
For Those I Loved by: Martin Gray
The Survivor by: Jack Eisner
Or any of Elie Wiesel’s great books ( )

Everybody raves about what a great book this is. I just did not get it. It was beautifully written, so beautiful lyrical that it would have made a better poem than a novel. I just felt that the author was trying to emulate Ondatje, and, in my opinion, it just did not work. ( )

I am really frustrated by the lack of superlatives for this book. It hit me with amazing force when I read it - I would give it more than 5 stars! All I can say is 'read it'!!!! ( )

A Jewish child escapes, by chance, from the holocaust and is adopted by a Greek archaeologist, moves to Canada, marries twice, becomes a noted poet and translator, goes back to Greece. He tells his story and reflects on his life and escape. He has massive survivor's guilt especially about his older sister. He is killed in a car crash and the story is taken over by an admirer. Clearly and sparsely written with some very evocative sections particularly at the beginning and later on when, after the death of his adoptive father, he discovers that his father has been actively searching for the lost sister.
A story of loss and renewal, although I found the the grief and guilt a bit much at times. ( )

Really enjoyed this book. The prose brought depth and reality to this "survivors tale" and in a way that you just don't see in most modern books. A quality work that I'm looking forward to re-reading. ( )

This is the story of a young boy rescued from WW2 Poland by an archaeologist, brought to live in Greece and then in Canada. It is obvious that the author is a poet because of the beautiful language used. This is the kind of book where the language itself, as much as the plot, moves the reader to insight and understanding. ( )

Great story of a young boy saved from Germany and how he moved from there to Greece and then to the US. It is a very well written story. ( )

A very graceful and moving novel although I would imagine not everyone's cup of tea. ( )

The images and language of this book reflect the author's poetic background, and the aimlessness of the plot also belies that background. ( )

Superb. Anne Michaels is a poet, and it shows -- every page is beautiful, the words flow like music. My only quibble is with the last section of the book, which -- for me -- didn't belong, seemed unnecessary, like a fourth movement. ( )