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There are currently 18 member reviews
for Under This Unbroken Sky
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Carol T. (Ankeny, Iowa)
Enthralling
As I read Under This Unbroken Sky, I couldn’t help but be reminded of Rolvaag’s classic Giants in the Earth. While Under This Unbroken Sky is more grim, both writers were unafraid to show immigrant life as it really was, not the “streets paved with gold” of myth. Most of our ancestors lived some version of this life, no matter where they settled. Life really was – and is – primarily a matter of making the most of what you have and starting over and over and over from wherever you find yourself.
Mitchell knows how to draw multi-dimensional, convincingly real characters with minimal lines, letting us into the minds of each in turn, and in the process builds suspense because we know something about each one’s internal life that the others can’t know. Their lives play out in front of us, as though we’re watching a gritty play – or real life. Plagues and all.
Under This Unbroken Sky is not only just a “good read,” but also would be an excellent book for group discussion, whether in a high school or college lit or history class or an adult book club.
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Beverly J. (Huntersville, NC)
The Illusion of Freedom
In Under This Unbroken Sky by Shandi Mitchell, the reader is treated to a beautifully written debut novel which describes a slice of life of the Ukrainian immigrants in the northern plains of Canada.
It is the spring of 1937, and Theo Mykolayenko returns to his wife and children after serving two years in jail for stealing his own grain. Theo stoically survived jail time by keeping his eyes on the prize of being free and owning his land. After all, wasn’t Canada the land of the free? Maria, his wife, and children survived the years by living in Theo sister’s shed and by pooling together their resources. Theo’s sister, Anna, has secured an adjacent homestead for Theo, unbeknown to her abusive husband. Will Theo be able to forget the past injustices and keep his eye on the future? Why does Anna cohort with the coyotes and will she learn from their strength to resist letting her husband back into her life? Will Maria, with her soothing spirit, be able to mend her husband and her sister-in-law? Will the children of Theo and Anna be able to straddle both their Ukrainian past and Canadian future?
This was an impressive novel that succeeded on many levels. The characters just came alive and will have the reader vested in their lives and feel their pain and joy of the vicissitudes of life. The description of the land and how unrelenting the elements were made Mother Nature a character in the book and you were rooting for this villainous character not to succeed in her attempt to break the spirit and resilience of the other characters. Tragedy was always looming, but to the credit of Shandi Mitchell’s skill as a writer, I was not quite sure when it would happen or to whom. This was an excellent immigrant story which showed that the success of the immigrant was less about the immigrants will to succeed but more on how much the new country was willing to allow the immigrant to succeed, and how those in power would always make and change the rules to make sure that they stayed in power.
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Debra S. (keene, nh)
Under This Unbroken Sky
I had a difficult time putting it down and when I had to, the characters stayed with me, inspiring me with their courage, their determination and their will to survive.
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Marta M. (Tustin, CA)
heart- wrenching
This was a beautifully written novel. It kept me riveted from the first page. The characters are fully drawn and it was a pleasure to read such lyrical writing. I only gave it 4 stars because I have a hard time with depressing novels. This should be a favorite of book clubs all over North America.
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Doris K. (Angora, MN)
Under This Unbroken Sky
This book is very well written. The author's description of people's feelings, seasons of the year, landscapes, etc. are done in a wonderfully clear manner. For example: the bitter but awesome winter is familiar to me as I live in northern Minnesota.
Many tragedies come to the family. Each character faces these setbacks in their own way, giving a true insight into their strengths and weaknesses. I found the book fascinating and one that I will remember for a long time.
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Suzanne G. (Tucson, AZ)
Under This Unbroken Sky (Should it be Broken Sky?)
To start with, I had no idea that Canada invited Ukrainian immigrants. This book kept my interest to the end. In the beginning, I was apprehensive at each page turn: What possibly could go wrong with the characters next? I felt I was reading the unfolding of a scary movie. The author's descriptions and details were vivid and believable. I could not wait for the end, yet having been warned the the ending was tragic, I knew I was asking for some disappointment with the story.
Not so--as it was as it had to be and the family moved on. My mother was born into a family of farmers who'd traveled by train from the Midwest to homestead in Washington state. Her stories of the near poverty (although c. 1910) reminded me that farming was not easy at all--even in later years.
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Maxine D. (Effingham, IL)
Under This Unbroken Sky
This was not an easy book to read, but somehow I was reluctant to put it down, and when I finished it I realized how deeply I had been drawn into the lives of this extended family.
The writing is sharply expressive, the landscapes vividly described; the reader is truly there. There is no happy ending, just a continuation of the will to survive no matter how long dreams must be deferred or how many hopes are dashed.
