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Book Reviewed by:
Rachel Hullett
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"We know life is finite. Why should we believe death lasts forever?" These words begin Anne Michaels's third novel, Held, a century-spanning meditation on grief, love and human connection. The novel opens in 1917 on the battlefield off the shores of River Escaut in Cambria, France—British soldier John has been wounded in a blast and lies dying. John's inner monologue, a series of observations about his surroundings, gives way to tender memories of his lover, Helena, as he begins to lose consciousness. Love, war and the tension between the two quickly emerge as prominent themes.
The novel then skips ahead to 1920. We're in North Yorkshire, England, and John has miraculously survived, though he's marked by the war in more ways than he realizes. John marries Helena and runs a photography studio, hiring an assistant who can help with the daily upkeep, since John has ...
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