Critical Praise

"A deeply felt novel of ideas that explores loss, displacement, human connection and the ‘one or two organizing principles’ that inform an individual life . . . Michaels brings lost worlds to life [in] painfully beautiful prose."

—Kirkus Reviews

"A tender love story set against an intriguing bit of history is handled with uncommon skill . . . Michaels is especially impressive at making a rundown of construction materials or the contents of a market as evocative as the shared moments between two young lovers . . . An exquisite second novel."

—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

"Has it been worth the wait [sinceFugitive Pieces]? It has . . . Anne Michaels, in short, is back . . . Think of The Arabian Nights, or the Odyssey, where characters incessantly tell stories about themselves and others; these are texts that carry whole cultures within themselves, and Michaels achieves something similar here . . . This is a book that proposes great themes: a critique of progress, an exploration of the nature of human suffering, an interrogation of the relationship between past and present. And yet, for all of that, it remains at bottom a deeply affecting love story . . . Beautifully written."

—Steven Hayward, Globe and Mail