Under This Unbroken Sky
Shandi Mitchell
Weidenfeld & Nicolson
In the spring of 1938, Theo Mykolayenko returns home after a year in prison for the crime of stealing grain to feed his family. Having escaped Stalin's Ukraine, Theo refuses to be beaten. Unable to purchase land under his own name, he comes to an arrangement with his sister to buy a quarter land in her name with the understanding that he will pay her back once the grain is sold. Theo takes to the land with unbending resolve, clearing, ploughing and harvesting grain. As the first shoots sprout and the crops grow, the family slowly heals and strengthens.
Abandoned by her abusive husband, Theo's sister Anna and her children rely on her brother and his family to help them survive their harsh surroundings. But not all is well with Anna. She is broken and unhinged and when her husband returns with an unforgivable plan to rob Theo of everything he has built, she agrees to go along with it.
When the clash comes between the two families, it is as harsh as the landscape itself. The dramatic conclusion and its tragic ending leaves the heart resonating with compassion. I wanted so much to reach into the story and put things right. To reverse time. To help them heal.
Absorbing and beautifully written, Under This Unbroken Sky is storytelling at its most powerful.
4 stars
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