The Architects Are Here

by Michael Winter

When Gabriel English’s partner Nell doesn’t come home from work one day, he connects with longtime friend David Twombly for a trip back to their hometown in Corner Brook, Newfoundland, where years back all their lives began to unravel with a tragic drowning. As the journey progresses, secrets are unveiled, a friendship is tested, and there is a run-in with the Hurley family, a family both men have feared since childhood. In The Architects Are Here , Winter’s fifth and most emotionally resonant novel to date, he explores the nature of grief and friendship in unwaveringly powerful prose, and sheds light on who we are and how we go on when the future seems uncertain.

Genres: Fiction, Canada, Literature

372 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Author of five books: The Architects Are Here, The Big Why, This All Happened, One Last Good Look, Creaking in their Skins. His novel, The Death of Donna Whalen, is slated for publication in 2010.

Reviews

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Long listed for The Giller 2007

I recently read This All Happened, and then this book , published seven years later. I was pleased to discover the same POV character: Gabriel English. The writing style is similar, but different. (Or as the Thai say: same-same, but different.)

Having said that, I still believe that Michael Winter’s writing style is such that he can be credited with having his own, distinctive voice: read a page in either book, and you will recognize that the writing style belongs to no one else.

I rated the former book 5 stars, and I wouldn’t think of changing it after reading The Architects. Although I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Architects are Here, I think the earlier book contains the more beautifully crafted prose; it is sparser, with layer upon layer of subtext.

And yet, while the characters are once again well-drawn in The Architects are Here, the reader will discover a more suspenseful plotline.

A mix of dark and light; humour and tragedy; without revealing the actual story, I would highly recommend reading this book. If you haven’t read either before, read them in the same order as I did, if possible .

[Corinne Wasilewski · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved the title and the way it popped up here and there throughout the novel. The story itself got off to a very slow start and then about 250 pages in -- bang, bang, bang -- it was one startling event after another and the story was over. The characters are self-absorbed and not very likeable or particularly interesting. They are well drawn, however, with Gabe the quintessential sidekick, Nell a flake and David a walking time bomb. I guess I'd rate the first 250 pages a 2 and the last 125 pages a 3 for a generous overall rating of 2.5.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a frustrating novel. i like some parts of it very much - the characters, and the setting, but they never did gel as a real belieavle sotry. I kept reading because I loved the dialogue and because I thought surely something would actually happen by agency and not by chance, but if there was a point it was lost on me.

[Alexis · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hate this book so much that I can't even finish it. That's unfortunate, as I'm supposed to review it for a publication. The one star is for the Canadian references. The characters visited some Montreal locations that I am familiar with, and I enjoyed that. Otherwise.... ugh!

[Ian Carpenter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just love Winter's writing and assume I'll read everything of his. This one had so much crossover with my life, places I've lived, visited, hung out at. I love his writing about relationships. The complicated friendship that dominates the second half of the book interested me less, maybe because of how much I disliked that character but the book is excellent and achieves, I think, something much deeper and richer than This All Happened (which I loved).

[Mary · Rating 1 out of 5]

A dear friend lent me her copy - I enjoy exploring the works of authors that I'm not familiar with. But you got me here, Michael Winter! Parts of his writing - "I stretched the face around my eyebrows" - " makes my brain bang open and shut" - stick with me as I trudge through the following passages. What exactly does that mean - is it intended to be visual? I can't see it. I gave up.

[Timeflies · Rating 1 out of 5]

Seemed like the author could not make up his mind what story he wanted to tell, jumped around touching on so many characters so briefly you never cared about any of them. Also when did "you're" become "youre" a small thing but really distracting every time I came across that word. I wanted to like this book but in the end was just glad it was over.

[Jennifer]

Got about halfway through the book and then abandoned it for something more compelling. I was just never gripped by the characters and finally decided that life is too short to force myself to finish a book that I'm not excited to read at the end of the day!

[Corinn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Couldn’t decide between a 2 or 3 star. Loved the writing style and POV but what the hell did I just read.

[Moktoklee]

My thoughts on Michael Winter's The Architects Are Here:

I had the same problem with this book as I did with Robertson Davies's Fifth Business. The Architects Are Here and Fifth Business is actually a pretty interesting side-by-side comparison given the very clear influence of Jungian philosophy in both works: the two brethren influencing each other’s life and personalities. Not only that, but the similar plot lines too…
Anyways, it's a novel and I understand novels are necessarily long, but authors can use their discretion about what they include in and exclude from the story: I mean there’s no rule to stop them. It’s sometimes this judgment of knowing what to include and not that makes the difference between a good novel and mediocre one.
For example: I liked the whole road trip idea, but the first sixty-seventy pages were beyond boring. Winter included too much monotonous detail, which really limited my ability to get into the story. It's a shame, because in the last section of the book Winter proved himself a talented storyteller. It's unfortunate because if he was able to self-edit and decide to cut out that first section it would’ve been pretty decent all around, but now, because he couldn’t self-edit I can only say I liked certain parts of it. Other than that, it was okay. This book really could've been good, and it was just alright.

[Marilyn Boyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought it was great. I like Winter's work and find each book different from the next, even if he uses some of the same characters in them. I always take it as a fresh character, rather than apply a backstory from another novel, because he might just be using the name with a fresh character, such as the narrator, in mind. This novel was dense, many layered and a challenge at times to follow. Well worth the challenge!

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story, great characters, inventive writing.

[Chris Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, so far...

[Matthew McCarthy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable, if not a bit absurd at points.

[Benny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Characters so real and flawed that you'll be convinced they're you! It's like reading a mirror...

[Grace Harbour · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it