{"product_id":"9780771005473","title":"Held","description":"\u003cb\u003e A breathtaking and mysterious novel from the beloved Anne Michaels, internationally bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eFugitive Pieces\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Winter Vault.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e1917. On a battlefield near the River Escaut[RR1] , John lies in the aftermath of a blast, unable to move or feel his legs. Struggling to focus his thoughts, he is lost to memory—a chance encounter in a pub by a railway, a hot bath with his lover on a winter night, his childhood on a faraway coast—as the snow falls.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e1920. John has returned from war to North Yorkshire, near another river—alive, but not whole. Reunited with Helena, an artist, he reopens his photography business and endeavours to keep on living. But the past erupts insistently into the present, as ghosts begin to surface in his pictures: ghosts whose messages he cannot understand\u003cb\u003e.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSo begins a narrative that spans four generations, moments of connection and consequence\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003eigniting and re-igniting\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003eas the century unfolds. In luminous moments of desire, comprehension, longing, and transcendence, the sparks fly upward, working their transformations decades later. This resonance through time—not only of actions but also of feelings and perceptions—desire in its many forms—are at the heart of this novel’s profound investigation.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eHeld \u003c\/i\u003eis a deeply affecting and intensely beautiful novel, full of unforgettable characters and imagery, wisdom and compassion. It explores the deepest mysteries, and the ways in which desire in its many forms—and perhaps the deepest desire, to find meaning—manifests itself. \u003ci\u003eHeld \u003c\/i\u003emoves through history to light upon Darwin, Sir Ernest Rutherford, North Sea ganseys, early photography, Ella Mary Leather, modern field hospitals…while lovers find each other and snow drifts down across the centuries. From its opening lines,\u003ci\u003e Held \u003c\/i\u003eis alive with seeking: \"We know life is finite. Why should we believe death lasts forever?”","brand":"Anne Michaels (CA)","offers":[{"title":"McClelland \u0026amp; Stewart |  Paperback \/ softback | Trade paperback (US) |  2024-09-03","offer_id":46019449291007,"sku":"9780771005473","price":22.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0329\/9075\/7001\/files\/BNCImageAPI_3edaffcc-e709-4f5d-a28d-7388b74dfb3a.jpg?v=1723160044","url":"https:\/\/riverbookshop.com\/products\/9780771005473","provider":"River Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}