Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels and Candelo by Georgia Blain are two novels where a significant event in the past has a permanent effect on the present. In both of the novels this event still continues to haunt the main characters - Jakob, in Fugitive Pieces and Ursula, in Candelo - in the present. Both authors use a number of techniques to show how these characters have been affected. Symbolism is used right throughout both novels, although it is drawn on much more poetically and more often in Fugitive Pieces to show Jackob's digging through his past through archaeology. The structure of Candelo and Fugitive Pieces is also important. In Candelo especially, the way that Georgia Blain has structured the novel shows extremely well the effect of the past on the present and its ability to trouble one's life. Journeys are also important in both Candelo and Fugitive...