Winner of the Best of the Orange Best 2010, selected by the Orange Prize Youth Panel.
A powerful story of suffering and the power of love. When a young holocaust survivor is found in the woods by a Greek archaeologist his life is transformed. Although haunted by the death of his family he discovers that love and respect are the greatest things that can be taught and learned. A very moving and powerful debut.
Jakob Beer is seven years old when he is rescued from the muddy ruins of a buried village in Nazi-occupied Poland. Of his family, he is the only one who has survived. Under the guidance of the Greek geologist Athos, Jakob must steel himself to excavate the horrors of his own history. A novel of astounding beauty and wisdom, Fugitive Pieces is a profound meditation on the resilience of the human spirit and love's ability to resurrect even the most damaged of hearts.
'Monumental Fugitive Pieces is the most important book I have read for forty years' John Berger, Observer
'This is a novel to lose yourself in; let the language pour over you, depositing its richness like waves lapping sand onto a beach. Michaels is a novelist of unusual and compelling power' Erica Wagner, The Times
'Essential reading, both for its exceptional literary craft and for its exemplary and inspiring humanity' Spectator
'All except a handful of contemporary novels are dwarfed by its reach, its compassion, its wisdom A book to read many times' Geoff Dyer, Independent
Author
About Anne Michaels
Anne Michaels is the international award-winning author of Fugitive Pieces, which won the Orange Prize for Fiction and the Guardian Fiction Prize. It was also made into a feature film. She is also the author of The Winter Vault and several books of poetry. Her work has appeared in translation around the world. The Adventures of Miss Petitfour is her first book for children.
