this book is a poetic biography of the poet jakob beer and is summarized in the poet's own words: "a man's experience of war never ends with the war. a man's work, like his life, is never completed." jakob beer was killed in a car accident in athens in 1993, his wife survived him by two days.
the title, fugitive pieces is a fitting one for this story because it lays out beer's history like a patchwork, rather than a linear narrative. each part of the story fits in its own place, ordered by when its significance is realized, not when it occurs on a linear time scale. there are elements of linear narrative in the story, but pieces of the story contiuously go back and forth through time, completing a segment begun earlier here, beginning another there, only to abandon it briefly, return to it later, and complete it still later. or the order could be reversed, a segment is concluded, then the reader is taken into the past to witness its inception and progression.
the novel is fascinatingly written. it's written in poetic prose that makes it both a pleasure and a delight to read. it's startlingly beautiful and very emotional in a strange way. i say it's a strange way because the writing never focuses on the feelings of the characters, but on their thoughts and actions but the reader still gets to witness and share their emotions. it's strange and wonderful. i only wish i could ever aspire to write like this. i would put the writing style up there next to tolstoy. it's that good. on the cover of my copy there's an extract from a review by john berger; it says, "[an] extraordinarily beautiful book...trust and read it." i concur wholeheartedly.
the story traces jakob beer's life from his childhood. it begins when he is discovered as a child by the geologer/historian athos. athos adopts him and cares for him through the second world war. jakob is a jew and must be hidden from the nazis, but the reality of the war does not totally enter the story, it only shades it. later on we see it's effects on both jakob and athos and some of the other characters. jakob spends most of his life searching for his lost sister, bella, who--we can only assume--died in a nazi concentration/death camp. so in the beauty of the novel there is a continual strain of tragedy but it is always redeemed by grace. if i were to write an essay on this book it would be called "grace in fugitive pieces." i loved it.
thanks, vince.
the title, fugitive pieces is a fitting one for this story because it lays out beer's history like a patchwork, rather than a linear narrative. each part of the story fits in its own place, ordered by when its significance is realized, not when it occurs on a linear time scale. there are elements of linear narrative in the story, but pieces of the story contiuously go back and forth through time, completing a segment begun earlier here, beginning another there, only to abandon it briefly, return to it later, and complete it still later. or the order could be reversed, a segment is concluded, then the reader is taken into the past to witness its inception and progression.
the novel is fascinatingly written. it's written in poetic prose that makes it both a pleasure and a delight to read. it's startlingly beautiful and very emotional in a strange way. i say it's a strange way because the writing never focuses on the feelings of the characters, but on their thoughts and actions but the reader still gets to witness and share their emotions. it's strange and wonderful. i only wish i could ever aspire to write like this. i would put the writing style up there next to tolstoy. it's that good. on the cover of my copy there's an extract from a review by john berger; it says, "[an] extraordinarily beautiful book...trust and read it." i concur wholeheartedly.
the story traces jakob beer's life from his childhood. it begins when he is discovered as a child by the geologer/historian athos. athos adopts him and cares for him through the second world war. jakob is a jew and must be hidden from the nazis, but the reality of the war does not totally enter the story, it only shades it. later on we see it's effects on both jakob and athos and some of the other characters. jakob spends most of his life searching for his lost sister, bella, who--we can only assume--died in a nazi concentration/death camp. so in the beauty of the novel there is a continual strain of tragedy but it is always redeemed by grace. if i were to write an essay on this book it would be called "grace in fugitive pieces." i loved it.
thanks, vince.
i can't wait to finish it - actually, i'm dreading finishing it, because i'm loving reading it so much.
ReplyDeleteknow what i mean?
the writing is everything you say it is and more. i can't believe a person who writes that beautifully is alive today - i think of language that well crafted as a lost art, but anne michaels is genuinely talented.
xoxo
This is one of the most beautiful books I've ever read. It stirred all kinds of emotion and a really deep, longing sense of nostalgia. And in the midst of all that, it was serious, and even-keeled. I think it was the poetry that was woven into the story that made it for me. Especially in part I. The large-scale geological metaphor was such a strange choice, but it's what made the book. I feel Margaret Atwood trying to do some of the same things in her own writing, but for some reason, it never much impact on me - not compared to this.
ReplyDeleteJewish Canadian authors just have a knack for the amazing, I think.
Also, I'm presently going through Inkheart, Patrick.