The Holding - Tapa dura

"Seductive, compelling, "The Holding takes us on a haunting journey into the wilds of both the land and the heart. Merilyn Simonds's crystalline prose is exquisitely crafted - spare, evocative, wise. I was swept away."
-Sandra Gulland
"A narrative page-turner.... As engrossing as the most intensely crafted psychological drama.... Compelling, hypnotic."
-"Globe and Mail
"The novel soars and pulses with life because of the exquisite detail.... A fascinating plot and an extraordinary sense of place."
-"Vancouver Sun
"[A novel] with a fresh psychological twist and poetic sensibility.... Breathtaking...."
-"Quill & Quire
"Highly accomplished.... Beautifully executed and researched...."
-Montreal "Gazette
"Her characters trace an urgent, almost mythic fate in which a stony farmstead becomes the stuff of their own bodies and dreams. Rarely has this connection been explored so intimately."
-John Bemrose
"Evocative, haunting, seductive. Simonds writes beautifully, imbuing the landscapes she describes with luxurious detail...."
-"Books in Canada
"A mesmerizing novel of parallel lives lived on the edge of wilderness. Simonds's language masterfully evokes the natural world, and her story is a moving testament to the healing power of that world."
-Esta Spalding
"An extremely sensuous book, a lush book....""
-Audrey Thomas," National Post
"Weaving shocking revelations and raw emotions at an assured pace and, at time, with exquisite prose, Simonds tells a haunting tale of life in the wilderness."
-"Calgary Herald
"Her precise descriptions of the landscape and its inhabitants ... create an authentic physical realityagainst which the inner lives of the characters are revealed."
-"Toronto Star
"A first novel full of poetic imagery and keen observation.... Simonds's poetic touch is delicate yet sure, her prose well matched to the emotional and physical landscapes she has conjured up from the country's past...."
-"London Free Press
"Eloquent and haunting..."
-"Toronto Sun
"In Simonds's gripping tale of two bush women, one contemporary, one pioneer, a wonderful third force is revealed - the euphonic, ubiquitous world of trees, herbs, wildflowers - one with the power to cure, give refuge, and mysteriously map the human psyche. A wondrous book, with no false notes."
-Claudia Casper

"From the Hardcover edition.

Alyson Thomson has left the city for a simpler life on an abandoned farm with her lover, Walker, a potter. Wandering there, she uncovers, in the ruins of a log cabin, the writings of a young woman who lived more than a hundred years before. Into Alyson's story Merilyn Simonds weaves the moving tale of Margaret MacBayne, who, with her family, left behind hardship in a seaside Scottish town in the hope of building a new home in the Canadian wilderness. Margaret, an expert on herbs, contemplates revenge when her brothers rob her of her happiness. When Alyson too suffers great loss, she must decide if retribution is worth the price. Taut and uplifting, sensuous and astute, "The Holding" is psychologically complex and beautifully rendered. Simonds brings us an intimate journey of discovery into the things we keep most guarded, whose truths often lie in unexpected places.