The Winter Vault

The Winter Vault is Canadian writer Anne Michaels' second novel.

Background
Michaels had started writing The Winter Vault before her breakout debut novel, 1997's Fugitive Pieces. The novel deals with topics of disenfranchisement and loss, and like Fugitive Pieces, it is written in a poetic, lyric style.

Plot
The Winter Vault is the story of Avery and Jean, who are living in Egypt in 1964 when the great temple at Abu Simbel must be rescued from the rising waters behind the Aswan Dam. Avery is overseeing how the temple is taken apart and rebuilt again.

Reception
The Winter Vault was praised by critics at outlets including The New York Times, The Guardian, and The Globe and Mail.