MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Literary Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels

caleb72 · 02-20-2015, 08:22 PM

I didn't mention that I did finish this.

At first, when the second voice chimed in I was a bit disappointed. It was a bit like starting again. Although I was drawn in to Ben's story as I continued reading, it was only to a point. Instead of reaching towards some kind of culmination that merged the two voices in an epiphany of sorts, (which was what I was expecting), I instead found myself less and less interested in Ben and a bit out of sorts with everything.

My thoughts on the prose was that its poetic nature both elevated the story and hampered it. Of course, whether the story itself was of primary importance is disputable. If we see Michaels as a poet more than a novelist, the plot becomes a means to a end rather than the end itself.

Fortunately (or unfortunately) such works tend to challenge the reader to participate and work harder - to find additional meaning in links that are sometimes more obscure. I don't think Fugitive Pieces was a cryptic riddle, but given the reading environments I had throughout, I probably profited less than I should have.

I did take something away from the experience. I did feel an amazing love represented by Jakob's relationship with Michaela. I did like the exploration of memory - especially dark memories - by many different people. I don't know if the author was trying to say something specific about the Nazi extermination of Jews in World War II, or that she just thought it was an excellent backdrop to explore the nature of memory and how it shapes you - and, more importantly, how it shapes different people differently.

I really enjoyed how love was introduced as almost an antidote for Jakob. Through the years, his benefactor had attempted to help him, and did. However, for the most part Jakob was still burying his past. His love for Michaela finally allowed him to start opening the doors that he had closed. It's not specifically stated how far he'd come, but if we assume that the first two thirds of the book were compiled from the notes Ben found, he hadn't done too badly. At least the memories had come out of his dreams and into conscious thought.

Ben was a different, but also interesting, exploration of memory; hereditary memory. Even though this was the aspect of the story that fell down for me, the idea was a really interesting juxtaposition to the first-hand memories explored earlier. Ben made me start thinking about the descendants of people who have experienced extreme trauma, not just in Nazi Germany. I started thinking about how experiences can impact people for generations.

I know there were other aspects to this book - music for example. However, I don't think I joined the dots on any of this. It's strange as music is really important to me; I even write it on occasion. But my appreciation of it is more abstract and I didn't really get the references.

Anyway, very glad I read the book even if it didn't quite hit the sweet spot for me.

02-20-2015, 08:22 PM	#17
caleb72 Indie Advocate Posts: 2,863 Karma: 18794463 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Melbourne, Australia Device: Kindle	I didn't mention that I did finish this. At first, when the second voice chimed in I was a bit disappointed. It was a bit like starting again. Although I was drawn in to Ben's story as I continued reading, it was only to a point. Instead of reaching towards some kind of culmination that merged the two voices in an epiphany of sorts, (which was what I was expecting), I instead found myself less and less interested in Ben and a bit out of sorts with everything. My thoughts on the prose was that its poetic nature both elevated the story and hampered it. Of course, whether the story itself was of primary importance is disputable. If we see Michaels as a poet more than a novelist, the plot becomes a means to a end rather than the end itself. Fortunately (or unfortunately) such works tend to challenge the reader to participate and work harder - to find additional meaning in links that are sometimes more obscure. I don't think Fugitive Pieces was a cryptic riddle, but given the reading environments I had throughout, I probably profited less than I should have. I did take something away from the experience. I did feel an amazing love represented by Jakob's relationship with Michaela. I did like the exploration of memory - especially dark memories - by many different people. I don't know if the author was trying to say something specific about the Nazi extermination of Jews in World War II, or that she just thought it was an excellent backdrop to explore the nature of memory and how it shapes you - and, more importantly, how it shapes different people differently. I really enjoyed how love was introduced as almost an antidote for Jakob. Through the years, his benefactor had attempted to help him, and did. However, for the most part Jakob was still burying his past. His love for Michaela finally allowed him to start opening the doors that he had closed. It's not specifically stated how far he'd come, but if we assume that the first two thirds of the book were compiled from the notes Ben found, he hadn't done too badly. At least the memories had come out of his dreams and into conscious thought. Ben was a different, but also interesting, exploration of memory; hereditary memory. Even though this was the aspect of the story that fell down for me, the idea was a really interesting juxtaposition to the first-hand memories explored earlier. Ben made me start thinking about the descendants of people who have experienced extreme trauma, not just in Nazi Germany. I started thinking about how experiences can impact people for generations. I know there were other aspects to this book - music for example. However, I don't think I joined the dots on any of this. It's strange as music is really important to me; I even write it on occasion. But my appreciation of it is more abstract and I didn't really get the references. Anyway, very glad I read the book even if it didn't quite hit the sweet spot for me.