Held Summary
Anne Michaels

Held Overview

Held by Anne Michaels tells the subtly interwoven stories of different romantic couples throughout the twentieth century whose relationships are challenged by political and historical forces. Beginning with an injury to John, a British soldier on a battlefield in World War One, the novel charts the impact of this initial trauma on subsequent generations whilst exploring a web of fated and predestined encounters between an assortment of characters, which ultimately combine at the novel’s end. It deals with themes of fate, serendipity, romance as a refuge, and trauma.