Theodore W. Adorno:  `To write poetry after Auschwitz would be barbaric'.

This famous maxim lays waste to any attempt to communicate the unconscionable horror of the Holocaust through artistic endeavour. In her novel 'Fugitive Pieces' Anne Michaels attempts to challenge this claim through writing a highly poetic and lyrical account of the generational impact of the event. Michaels recounts the events and subsequent consequences on the lives of her two narrators, Jakob, a first generation survivor, and Ben, Jakob's metaphysical heir who gives the details his experiences a generation later. Throughout these accounts Michaels uses heavy metaphor and lyrical poetry to convey the guilt and power of the survival of both these narrators. The style is loudly poetic in an attempt to create an account of what is seemingly...