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    Under This Unbroken Sky: A Novel
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    Under This Unbroken Sky: A Novel
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    Under This Unbroken Sky: A Novel
    Ebook374 pages7 hours

    Under This Unbroken Sky: A Novel

    By Shandi Mitchell

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    The story of an immigrant family trying to build a life in an unforgiving new world, Under This Unbroken Sky is a mesmerizing and absorbing first novel of love and greed, pride and desperation. Award-winning writer Shandi Mitchell based this evocative and compelling narrative of struggle and survival on the Canadian prairie on her own family history.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateSep 8, 2009
    ISBN9780061960024
    Unavailable
    Under This Unbroken Sky: A Novel

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    Reviews for Under This Unbroken Sky

    4/5

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    • 5/5
      "Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble." No witches here, but Shandi Mitchell's debut novel, UNDER THIS UNBROKEN SKY, is filled with toil and trouble and this tragic tale could easily be seen as Shakespearean in its themes of greed, family betrayals and suffering. Novelist Ron Rash has likened Mitchell's fiction to that of Willa Cather. To that list I would add Mildred Walker, as I was often reminded of her classic novel of Depression-era Montana, WINTER WHEAT, one of my all-time favorite reads. The bleakness of Depression-era prairie life in Alberta comes through best from the half-crazed viewpoint of abused and oft-abandoned wife, Anna Shevchuk, as she muses incoherently about her desperate situation. "House, land ... Forever. Empty. Flat. Alone ... Nobody. Life. Sadness ..."In Anna's increasing madness and her strange attempts to connect with marauding coyotes, I thought too of another Canadian writer, Marian Engle, and her twisted but magical novel, BEAR. People and animals. All of us beasts. No happy endings.Ron Rash is correct, however, in his Cather connection and how important land is to farmers, and to immigrants in particular. Mitchell's protagonist, Teodor Mikhalayenko, defines himself, justifies himself in those terms, answering his sister Anna, when she asks why he couldn't "just leave": "Because it's my land. It's all I have and all I am. And no one will ever take it away."All of the characters here are impressive and three-dimensional. Teodor's wife and children, as well as Anna's children and ne'er-do-well husband. Mitchell displays uncommon skill in getting inside the heads of all of them, making them incredibly real; and making you care about almost all of them. Anna's husband, Stefan, is a truly unlikeable scoundrel, a classic villain; but there is room for a tiny bit of pity for even him - that's how good Mitchell is!Perhaps the most affecting of the secondary characters is Anna's daughter, Lesya, born with a club foot, she makes a pet of a similarly crippled chicken. Sadly, not even a crippled hen named "Happiness" can survive this harsh and cruel existence.As I said at the outset, this is a tragedy, and a fine one at that. Mitchell is a wonderful writer. I can't wait to see what she writes next. Highly recommended.
    • 2/5
      Under This Unbroken Sky is the story of the families of Teodor, and his sister Anna, Ukrainian immigrants to the northern Canadian prairie. Set in 1938, farming life on the cold prairie was harsh and their very existence was a struggle to survive. Drought, greed, starvation, child abuse, murder, rape, - Incredibly dark and depressing you struggle through their daily hardships with tragedy after tragedy. The descriptions in the book are well done, but I did not care for the mostly present tense writing and thought it made the flow choppy. I also thought that much of the violence in the book was there for the shock value of violence. The story line seemed foggy to me, as if there was some other story that was going to come about, but didn't.
    • 5/5
      An immigrant Ukrainian family suffers hardship on the tundra of Western Canada. One man was in prison for two years for using some of his own grain. He and his children work the fields owned by his sister, while her absent husband lives a life of depravity. His own wife, Maria, with love for her family, creates a garden that helps feed them all and earns extra money, while she mends every stitch of clothing they wear. Then the absent brother in law returns and wreaks havoc on everyone.
    • 5/5
      From the book jacket: Spring 1938. After nearly two years in prison for the crime of stealing his own grain, Ukranian immigrant Teodor Mykolayenko is a free man. While he was gone, his wife, Maria, their five children, and his sister, Anna, struggled to survive on the harsh northern Canadian prairie, but now Teodor – a man who has overcome drought, starvation, and Stalin’s purges – is determined to make a better life for them. … But Anna’s husband, Stefan, unexpectedly returns, stirring up rancor and discord that will end in violence and tragedy. My reactions:This debut work just about broke my heart. Mitchell’s writing is luminous and poetic in places, making the landscape and weather central characters in the drama that unfolds. In the span of a year’s time, the novel touches on the immigrant experience, the injustice of prejudice against the newcomers, the harsh realities of prairie life during this time, domestic abuse, faith, loyalty, friendship, charity, pride, survival and forgiveness. If that seems like too much to handle, trust me, it isn’t; at least not in Mitchell’s capable hands. Teodor embodies the immigrant ethic – hard work and steadfast movement toward a goal, championing a cause for the betterment of his family. But he also falls victim to his own faults: pride and anger. He is so caught in being justifiably outraged that he cannot see his way to compromise. And yet, he is a loving father, husband, brother and uncle. Maria is a tower of strength, keeping her family together and carefully husbanding their meager resources to feed not only her own children, but her sister-in-law and her two children. Her work is no less difficult than Teodor’s back-breaking task of clearing the land for their homestead. She instills values of charity, love and faith in her family, and tries her best to do so for her niece and nephew. The character that most distresses me is Petro, Anna and Stefan’s son. He tries so hard to emulate his older cousin and uncle, but is understandably most influenced by his father. He may be only nine when the novel ends, but I worry for his future. This is a book, and an author, that deserves a wider audience.
    • 4/5
      A novel about a Russian immigrant family homesteading in western Canada in the 1930's. It was very well written with good character development. a sense of impending inevitable disaster loomed throughout.
    • 5/5
      A family of Ukrainian immigrants to Canada face obstacles on their homestead in Alberta. Hard work and family love pay off as they see their crops in, and a home built, every bit by the sweat of their own brows. Then all of it threatened by a lazy in-law and innocent hands. This author has a way with words - the family dynamics and the sense of place were potent. Highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      Great. Little House on the Prairies, for grown ups. Used a great device, right at the beginning of the book. She described a family photo taken in 1933, and said that 5 years later, one would be dead, and two of which there was no picture, would be murdered. The book then starts 5 years later. So you are wondering the entire time who and when the characters were going to die. It pulls you along through the entire book. You are waiting — is it now? — at every point in which you could imagine a death happening, whether because of a minor event such as the kids playing in the lake, or because of the disasters they face, like the wildfire racing through land. I read the entire book in one night.
    • 4/5
      Historical novel set in Canada's northern prairies in the late 1930s. Ukrainian immigrants Teodor Mykolayenko, his wife Maria and their five children have escaped the oppression of Stalin's Soviet Union and settled on a homestead in western Canada. Having served a two-year sentence for stealing grain that belonged to him, Teodor returns to his family, which includes his sister Anna and her two children, and with demonic resolution sets out to clear the land and ensure his family's future in this harsh and perplexing country. Entering the picture once the work is done is Stefan, Anna's arrogant and deceitful husband, and there ensues a power struggle between the two men which divides the family and leads to the novel's violent and tragic conclusion. Mitchell's prose shimmers like the ice hanging from the trees in the timeless landscape that she brings expertly to life. The landscape and weather hover sullenly over the narrative, generating great tension and foreboding. An accomplished and utterly absorbing novel. Winner of a Commonwealth Writers Prize and the Thomas H. Raddall Atlantic Fiction Prize.
    • 4/5
      This is the story of two Ukrainian families trying to establish a new life as farmers in the Canadian prairies during the 1930s. As the story opens, Teodor is just returning home to his wife Maria and five children after spending a year in prison for trying to hold back some seed for the following year's crop. Maria and the children live with Teodor's sister, Anna and her two children. Anna's husband Stephan is sometimes home, but (thankfully) mostly not.The story that unfolds is tragic beyond the ongoing hardships of breaking in new land and trying to farm and survive on the prairies during winter blizzards and summer fires. This is not a happy book. It is, however, a very good book. Great story, with descriptions that put the reader right in the situations with the characters. Every charcter is richly developed. The writing is very strong. Definitely recommended.
    • 5/5
      This is the story of one fateful year in 1938 in the lives of Teodor Mykolayenko, his sister Anna Shevchuk and their immediate families, struggling to homestead and make a new life for themselves in rural Alberta. The story has a grim start - Teodor returns to his family after spending a year in prison for the crime of trying to feed his family. During Teodor's year in prison, his wife Maria and their 5 children have been forced to struggle to survive in a one-room shack attached to the small cabin that Anna lives in with her two children. Anna's rogue husband, Stefan, feels that farming is beneath him, has left his wife and children weeks ago and has not returned, driving Anna into a deep depression. Teodor and his wife struggle through the summer to plant a garden and plow the virgin land for wheat to meet the patent requirements for homesteading and to feed the families. Just when things are starting to look up, Anna's wayward husband returns with a self-serving plan that can only have disastrous effects on the families.The story reads like a sweeping saga of human struggle, family pride and resilience in the face of misfortune. Mitchell's experience as an award-winning director and screenwriter shows here with her ability to present such a vivid, visual experience, built on historical facts. The story is haunting, bleak and shocking but delivered with a skill that is breathtaking. A stunning page-turner.
    • 5/5
      Bleak but Compelling ReadA beautifully written story of a Ukranian family who come to homestead in the Prairies during 1938. Initially it was such depressing reading I wondered if I would actually get through the book. But though the story moves slowly - gradually we get to know the Teodor and Maria - and their 5 children, as well as Teodor's sister and her family. The story is rich with detail about the enormous challenges which faced homesteaders as well as the love, tragedy , strength and weakness of the characters. As I got further into the book, I found I could not put it down. This is a magnificent book - a story which gave me much insight into the difficulties of creating a home on the praires in 1938.This beautiful, depressing and haunting story will stay with me for a long time. Not for the easily depressed , but a magnificent read.
    • 4/5
      From my book review blog Rundpinne...."Beautiful, stark and vivid, Under This Unbroken Sky by Shandi Mitchell is a spectacular debut novel portraying prairie life in the 1930s. The story begins in 1938 Canada when Ukrainian immigrant Teodor Mykolayneko is returning home after being imprisoned for two years for stealing his own grain. Mitchell deftly and accurately describes not only the terror the Ukrainians faced under Stalin’s reign, but also manages to deftly describe the harrowing tale of escape and the hardships and struggles of beginning a new life in a foreign land. The reader is drawn into life on the prairie with Teodor, his wife Maria, and their five children along with his sister Anna, her two children and her drunken and abusive husband Stefan. Under This Unbroken Sky is masterfully written and the hardships and betrayals are so well written and vividly detailed that the reader, while not truly being able to ever know what it was like, certainly is able to grasp the sensations of the hard life that faced those moving to the Canadian Prairie. Under This Unbroken Sky will evoke many emotions in the reader and while the story is a bleak one, the book is mesmerizing and difficult to put down. I would highly recommend Under This Unbroken Sky to any reader, especially those who enjoy historical books, as well as to book discussion groups and this book has a lot to offer up for discussion."
    • 4/5
      The story begins with the description of a black-and-white photograph. A man, a woman and five children. The date on the photograph is 1933, the place Willow Creek, Alberta.There are times when I pick up an old photograph of my grandparents or my parents and I spend time thinking about the history behind the faces. What were their desires? What heartbreak did they experience? What hopes and dreams did they have and were those fulfilled or abandoned? Why?Shandi Mitchell addresses these questions by taking her readers through a period of time in which life was very hard. She introduces us to a family of immigrants, their origin Ukraine. They struggle with learning language and dealing with foreign laws, laws which prevent them from even being able to provide their children with food.UNDER THIS UNBROKEN SKY studies the relationship between a brother and a sister and their families. It paints a heart-breaking picture in graphic, real strokes. My heart broke and broke again as I felt each families struggle, felt myself grow angry at the injustice of the actions of both the law and the members of the families. I could feel the tension building with each pounding on the door I read about and every howl of the coyotes in the night air.Recently I read a book that dealt with the struggle of the immigration process in a more recent time period. That book followed the path of a young Chinese girl and her experience in the sweat shops in New York. UNDER THIS UNBROKEN SKY gave me a more historical perspective and reminded me that although we may say we have come a long way - even in recent times there are people living in the hardships described in this story.This book tore at my heart and should be a "must read" for anyone interested in historical literature.
    • 2/5
      There's no doubt that this is a well-written and thought-provoking book, but I'm afraid it wasn't for me. I found it so depressing that I actually felt it was bringing my mood down when I was reading it. It's the story of a Ukranian family who have escaped the rule of Stalin to move to Canada, but even that doesn't work out when the father of the family is imprisoned for keeping some of his own grain. Here begins a story of immense sadness, with very little light relief to be found.As I say, there's no doubt it's well-written and lots of people have loved this book, but it just didn't do anything for me.Off to read something more upbeat now!
    • 5/5
      This was a GOOD book, I couldn't put it down. It does have a surprise ending, and sad at that. I can't imagine living in those conditions, it really makes you stop and think what we have now, and how thankful we should all be.
    • 4/5
      The book is about an immigrant family trying to survive on the prairie. The characters are good and the ending was a surprise.
    • 4/5
      This beautifully written novel moves relentlessly along to the end that you're hoping won't happen. It is sad, sad, sad, and probably very true to what it was like for immigrants from the Ukraine to Canada in the 1800s and early 1900s. It focuses on one family and their struggles to make a home for themselves in a cruel wilderness. The author breaks up the daunting day-to-day of these people with joyful and sweet family times. But, realistically, these are few and far between.
    • 4/5
      Shandi Mitchell's first novel was very good! I actually got completely lost in the pages of Under This Unbroken Sky. The character's were so intriguing I sometimes couldn't quite move from one character to another. Harsh nature and even harsher economic times were very trobulesome for the characters. Their perservance and struggle to survive was awsome. Once started, I couldn't put it down and I recommend it to others!
    • 4/5
      This is a tightly woven story about two immigrant families who attempt to break ground and farm in Canada. Teodor and Anna are siblings, both of their families have fled the horrors of their homeland under Stalin and have landed on the Canadian prairie. It’s the 30’s and like the US, the depression and weather issues of the time take their toll in Canada. Teodor is unable to own land after being accused and arrested of stealing his own grain. His wife Maria, one of the strongest characters in the novel, keeps their homelife intact while they try to rebuild their farm and life. Anna’s ne’er do well husband Stefan returns after an absence, which sets in motion many of the tragic events that propel this story to its’ conclusion. This is no Little House on the Prairie, as harsh conditions torment these families' hearts and minds. I was fascinated by Mitchell's personal note at the end, which details a bit about her own grandfather and how that led to this story. That really pushed it to a four star rating for me.
    • 5/5
      This book grabbed my attention right from the start. It is one of those books that you cannot put down. It is a tragic story of 2 families who are immigrants in Northern Canada. The author does a great job describing Canada and the harshness the families live through. The ending blew me away! It is a book I will not soon forget!
    • 4/5
      It took me a while to finish this one because it isn't a happy story. Ukrainian immigrants to Canada in the 1930's had it hard. But it is a story well written with honesty and intensity. It was a story that had me wrapped in a blanket shivering in the snow storm even though it is 90 degrees here in south Alabama. I recommend this book for anyone that is interested in historical fiction. I look forward to reading more from Shandi Mitchell.
    • 5/5
      This a story of a family of immigrants who have left the persecution of Stalin in the Ukraine of 1938, to start a new life on the Canadian plains. As many immigrant families have found through out history, the promised land seldom lives up to it's promise. Maria and her five children, along with her sister-in-law, Anna, with her two children and scoundrel husband , establish a homestead on the prairie, while waiting for Maria's husband, Theodor, to get out of prison. He had been jailed by the local officials of Stalin's regime, for trying to hold back enough grain from the tax collectors, to feed his family. Even after he rejoins the family, their problems do not stop. Life on the plains is a constant fight against nature. Sub-freezing winters, wild fires in summer, wild animals, such as coyotes vying for the scarce food in winter and threatening stock all year round. Of course the greatest threat of all to the happiness of the families, each other. The book is very well written, with vivid depictions of the hardships which had to be faced every day and deep insight into the characters and how they attempt to cope. The story unfolds a very compelling tragedy on the plains of hope.
    • 4/5
      This was a different type of book for me, totally outside of the normal genres I read. This may have been why it took me so long to finish it, as it was straight fiction. At first, I wasn't going to participate in the BN.com book club because the synopsis didn't appeal to me. However, I decided that the book was probably worth reading or it wouldn't have been chosen for the club, so I might as well give it a shot. My hunch was right as this was an amazing book! Not amazing in the sense of staying up all night to find out what happens next, but amazing in the sense of beautiful, descriptive writing that really brought the story to life and made you care what happens to the characters.The four adults, Theodor, his wife Maria, sister Anna, and Anna's husband Stefan, couldn't be more different. Theo and Maria are hard-workers who take care of their family and provide a home full of love. Anna seemed weak, married to a worthless, drunken bully and neither of them acted like responsible adults. I really felt sorry for their two children. And the constant hardships they faced took my breath away! I always find myself rooting for the good guys to have a happy ending, but life doesn't work out that way and neither does this story. The ending took me by surprise, but made total sense. I'd recommend this book for anyone who enjoys fiction and appreciates talented, beautiful writing.
    • 2/5
      Under This Unbroken Sky is the story of the families of Teodor, and his sister Anna, Ukrainian immigrants to the northern Canadian prairie. Set in 1938, farming life on the cold prairie was harsh and their very existence was a struggle to survive. Drought, greed, starvation, child abuse, murder, rape, - Incredibly dark and depressing you struggle through their daily hardships with tragedy after tragedy. The descriptions in the book are well done, but I did not care for the mostly present tense writing and thought it made the flow choppy. I also thought that much of the violence in the book was there for the shock value of violence. The story line seemed foggy to me, as if there was some other story that was going to come about, but didn't.
    • 5/5
      Under This Unbroken Sky is a powerful, gripping and thrilling story of 2 immigrant families from the Ukraine. Ms. Mitchell has done a good job telling of their lives and hardhsips as they farm and try to make Canada their home. Her writing style is so discriptive you can see the images in your mind and feel like you are there. Under This Unbroken Sky is also the story of hope. Hope for a better life and the struggle toward it.
    • 3/5
      Under This Unbroken Sky is the story of two families who are trying to survive as farmers. Theodore and Maria have five children; his sister Anna is married to Stefan and they have two children. Theodore arrives home after spending two years in jail for stealing his own grain. He is determined to make a good life for his family and works hard. Fate seems to have a different plan and anything that could go wrong does go wrong for these two families.This is one sad, depressing, and dark book. It is an riveting story, but I got worn out with all the bad stuff that kept happening. AND kept happening! It just never ends, these poor people. It is a serious, dramatic, and bleak story. If you like that kind of thing, this is the book for you...not for me, however.
    • 5/5
      Wow. This is a tough one. Not because I didn't like this book-- I loved this book-- but because it was so gut-wrenching at times that I question: Did I enjoy it?But the verdict is "yes", for the most part, I did enjoy it. Even though there were moments in the book when I would sit with the book held in my hands, still closed, and take a deep breath and prepare myself to read on. Because I knew. I knew what was about to come was going to be hard to read. And I dreaded reading the words, even though I already knew what they would say.This is the story of two families. Well, one family really. It is the story of a brother and sister, and their separate yet devastatingly entwined lives. It is about hardship and decisions-- the choices that we make in our lives. How those choices affect those around us.Siblings Anna and Teodor fall on hard times in the Ukraine, and escape to Canada in the 1930s. Life there is harsh. Anna was once a jewel in a poverty-stricken family. She was unhappy with her position in life and dreamed of something more. Along came Stefan, a charming soldier who swept her off her feet. Anna marries Stefan, with hopes of escaping her life, and finds herself doomed with a cruel and heartless man.Flash forward and we now find Anna a despondent and hopeless woman raising two children and abandoned by her worthless husband. She is living on land in brutal Canada, with her brother Teodor's wife and children living in a shack out back since Teodor was sent to prison a year before for the single crime of withholding some of his grain for himself and his starving family.Teodor now returns, and the rollercoaster of ups and downs begin. You get to see the polarization of two different families. Anna's family is a shambles, living life with no direction, depending on Teodor for their survival. Teodor's family, on the other hand, works like a well-oiled machine. Hard-working and enduring, nothing stops them. They face life head-on, while Anna's family lies defeated.I loved the writing style of this book. I loved the characters, which I really got to know through all of the little details that the author Shandi Mitchell includes. You really get to know these people, and like or dislike them. That is why it was so hard for me to read on when I knew that something terrible was about to happen-- I knew these people; I liked these people. I didn't want to see anything more happen to them. I wanted to shake Anna and tell her to wake up from her self-pitying stupor and take care of her family! I wanted to befriend Maria and be awed by her strength and selflessness. I wanted to take pride in Maria and Teodor's children. I wanted to save Anna's children.This is a beautifully-written, heart-wrenching story that I highly recommend. I'm left feeling as if my sister and her family has moved away, and I miss them.
    • 4/5
      This book is tragic at so many levels, and yet it is a book I would wholeheartedly recommend. I found myself captivated by the character's lives, and caring about the fates of all of them. A description of the plot may sound like there is an overwhelmingly depressing grimness in the lives of these people. Yet the efforts they make to find joy are like bright fireflies bringing light to the story. In the Spring of 1938, Theo Mykolayendo, a Ukrainian victim of Stalin’s starvation program, is freed after serving two years in Soviet prison for stealing his own grain. He joins his family in the untamed, bleak northern prairie of Alberta, Canada, where land that no one else wanted was set aside for poor immigrants. He and his wife, Maria and their five children work hard to clear the land, plant it with wheat, and make a life for themselves. Occasionally they get help from Theo’s sister Anna and her two children, who live next door. But Anna seems unhinged, and the children are too young to be of much help. Periodically, Anna’s unremittingly evil husband Stefan comes back home from town to take money, food, and beat his wife and children before he returns to the brothels and bars.Theo’s family fights prairie fire, broken tools, blisters, sickness, want, starvation, and then the weakness, sickness and greed of his sister’s family. Always there is more they need: new boots and warm coats; food for all; nails for a new barn; a granary to protect the grain from mice; a horse to pull the plow; shoes and food for the horse; and other seemingly endless necessities. Theo must also provide for Anna and her family. There is never enough. But scenes of washing and canning and cooking and eating and trips into town are lovingly portrayed with detail that is illuminating rather than tedious. The affection the author has for the characters is clear, and spreads to the reader as well. The young children in the story have their own concerns too. In Theo's family, Ivan, only five, competes – mostly unsuccessfully - with Anna’s boy Petro. Katya, seven, is plagued by superstition and fears. Sofia, eleven, wants to be a lady. Myron, thirteen, wants his father to respect him. Dania, fourteen, has to help run the household. Anna’s son Petro, seven, is destined to become as cruel as his father. Lesya, ten, born with a deformed foot, keenly senses Anna’s rejection of her.When the clash comes between the two families, it is as harsh as the landscape itself. Somehow, survivors of the turmoil summon the strength from within themselves to go on.Evaluation: It's interesting to learn the details of existence under such adverse circumstances; many pioneers endured similar or worse conditions, and you can only wonder at their perseverance. On the Barnes & Noble First Look site, the author said she was inspired by "[p]eople, life, injustice, small acts of compassion, small acts of heroism, flawed people who overcome, everyday people and the stories they carry, and people who surprise me with their artist heart[s]." This also could serve as an excellent description of this story. One of the protagonists, Stefan, is a bit too caricatured, but the rest are richly complex in interesting ways. And all play a role in the tragedies that befall them.
    • 5/5
      I loved this book from beginning to end. I have already looked this author up to see if she has written any other books and was disappointed to find that this was the first and only one so far. I can only hope there will be more! If you like historical fiction, read this book. The characters seemed real, flaws and all. I really admired Maria and her children for their strength and togetherness throughout the book.
    • 3/5
      I've read bleak depressing books before and this one is one of them. There are a few light hearted moments but not many. Living on a farm in the 30's was extremely hard and twice as difficult if you were immigrants. This book stresses the family dynamic and without the cooperation of everybody then nothing would work and everybody would starve. You have Teodor and Myron (father and son) who work the fields and do the majority of the heavy duty work. Maria (the mother) and her daughters help in the kitchen and prepare food, plant seeds into the soil, and help out what's needed around the farm. Throughout the pages you just read about them working so hard to overcome harsh winters, and hot summers. It's not the most easiest work in the world. So you have one family doing a lot of work, putting their blood, sweat, and tears into their beloved farm to make a living, and to survive. On the other side you have the other family. Anna, Petro, Lesya (might be Mischa in other versions of the novel from what I hear), and Stefan. They don't do much. Although Lesya seems to be the one carrying the family on her shoulders (and she's a young girl, younger than 16). Anna is busy wallowing in her self pity and depression. Her marriage to Stefan isn't so great as he leaves for several months and then comes back whenever he feels like it. Petro idolizes his father not knowing any better.There, you have two very different families. You read through their hardships and at first everything is all right. Then several catastrophes happen. It's almost as if it's an omen for things to come. Then Stefan arrives into the picture. Remember my hatred for Robert Dudley in The Virgin's Lover? Well Stefan is down there too. I can't stand this guy. He's arrogant, he's scum, he's got all the qualities I dislike. Thanks to him, everything just goes to nothing. I can't sympathize with Anna. Then again perhaps she has every right to be acting the way she is. Of all the characters I like Teodor and Maria the most. They were so supportive of each other and were very strong. I admired Maria the most because she went through great lengths to support her family and was the steady "rock" who was the glue of the family.Normally I don't read this kind of fiction but I decided why not. Give it a try. I don't regret it, however I was a little squeamish as there were parts of graphic deaths of animals and I just can't stomach those. There was a lot of description and normally I can't stand that but it was well done. It wasn't over the top description but enough to let you feel and literally smell the surroundings of the setting so you can actually feel like you're there with the characters. The plot was good and flowed nicely. The ending, well, let's just say it suits the book. Whether it could have been prevented or not, I'm not sure. Probably not. (You'll see what I mean if you read it)Don't pick this up if you're squeamish. However if you want something dramatic and realistic then read this. It's actually quite good. It's a serious read. It's dramatic, serious, dark, bleak yet beautiful. All at the same time.