The Winter Vault.

A lyrical and deeply moving novel about loss, The Winter Vault by Anne Michaels, author of the best selling and award-winning Fugitive Pieces, follows husband and wife Avery and Jean from the early days of their courtship to the tragedy that befalls them in Egypt, which threatens to tear them apart.

Here, Michaels examines different levels of loss—whether it be the loss of home, a family member, or an entire village—through the use of both personal and historical stories. With tales of Jean and Avery’s, stories of the building of the St. Lawrence Seaway, the construction of the Aswan Dam in Egypt, and occupied Warsaw, Michael’s illustrates the effects that loss has on people, and the healing that comes after.

Although I applaud Michael’s writing style and ability to bring a scene alive, to the point that you feel like you’re there breathing the Egyptian air and smelling the St. Lawrence, the narrative was found lacking, especially in the shift from Egypt to Toronto. The characters were underdeveloped, their motivations and reactions to loss difficult to understand or sympathize with.

The Winter Vault is not light reading as its content is extremely heavy—at times it felt like a weight on my shoulders. The Winter Vault was both depressing and difficult to read, with a few moments of brightness that propelled me to finish reading it. Recommended with reservations.