Under This Unbroken Sky - by Shandi Mitchell (Paperback)

About the Book

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.

Book Synopsis

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.

From the Back Cover

Spring 1938. After nearly two years in prison for the crime of stealing his own grain, Ukrainian 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 the family's hopes and newfound happiness are short-lived when Anna's rogue husband, the arrogant and scheming Stefan, unexpectedly returns, stirring up rancor and discord that will end in violence and tragedy.

Shandi Mitchell has woven an unbearably suspenseful story, rich with fiery conflict, written in a language of luminous beauty and clarity.

Review Quotes

"A magnificent novel. . . . A powerhouse of a debut that grips from start to finish." - Steven Galloway, author of the The Cellist of Sarajevo
"Under This Unbroken Sky is a dazzling novel. Shandi Mitchell's depiction of Depression-era prairie life has a vividness and veracity that brings to mind Willa Cather's fiction, but Mitchell's voice and her rendering of the human heart's complexities are completely her own. She is a writer of immense talent." - Ron Rash, author of Serena
"Unforgettable. . . . Mitchell's extraordinary rendering of human suffering is matched by her ability to give powerful imaginative shape to the will to survive, to care for others, and to forgive the most brutal of trespasses." - Janice Kulyk Keefer, author of The Ladies' Lending Library
"Utterly gripping. Epic in scope, this tale of family feuds, violence and hardship follows the fortunes of Theo Mykolayenko, a Ukrainian survivor of Stalin's labour camps who starts a new life in the harsh Canadian Prairies. . . . Beautifully pitched and unsentimental in execution. Brilliant." - Marie Claire (UK)
"[A] novel that focuses on the human condition. Mitchell excels at describing the family's state of poverty, where nothing is wasted, clothing is mended and reused, and everyone has a role in tending the crop. Readers want to root for this family." - Lisa Ko, author of The Leavers
"This ambitious novel, full of the minutiae of the savage existence of a frontier family, comprises a harsh picture of lives lived in an unforgiving landscape." - Publishers Weekly
"Remarkable. . . . Mitchell's harrowing story delivers an unforgettable literary tribute to an immigrant people and their struggle. The lyrical style, the riveting historical material, and the treatment of prejudice make the novel a great book-club choice." - Booklist (starred review)
"[An] unflinching debut. . . . There's a love for the land and the immigrant spirit throughout the book. This is one of the finest novels I have read this year--a lyrical, evocative tale of pioneer life from an immensely talented debut author." - Historical Novels Review