Book Review: Annabel by Kathleen Winter

Publication Date: 2011

Publisher: Black Cat, Grove/Atlantic, Inc.

Format: Paperback

Genre:  Literary Fiction

Why I Chose It: Recommended by numerous bloggers, including Adam at Roofbeam Reader

The Day the Falls Stood Still by Cathy Marie Buchanan

The stone walls of Loretto Academy are so thick I can sit curled up on a windowsill, arms around the knees tucked beneath my chin ... I have only to open a pair of shutters to take in my own private view of the Niagara. Beyond the hedge and gate marking the perimeter of the academy , and the steep descent leading to the wooded shore, I can see the upper river and the falls. Endless water plummets from a brink to the rocks below, like the careless who slip, like the stunters who fail, like the suicidal who leap. I nudge my attention downriver, to clouds of rising mist. In those clouds I have seen aberrations -- flecks of shimmering silver, orbs of color a shade more intense than their surroundings. I have seen them more than once, and I have decided they are prayers, mine and everyone else's, too. (pp. 5-6)

In 1915, seventeen-year-old Bess lives a comfortable life at boarding school, where the nuns nurture her love of books. However, her life drastically changes when her father loses his job. Then a horrifying tragedy shreds the religious faith which as always been an important part of her, and Bess begins a slippery journey on a new spiritual path.

As Bess copes with the disintegration of her life, as she knew it, the first world war has begun. Canada is swept up in pre-war fervor. Young men are being pressured to join the military, with no idea of the horrors they will face in European trenches.

In the midst of all this turmoil, Bess meets Tom Cole, a river man who makes his living by fishing and other less pleasant jobs, and there is an instant attraction. Tom has a special affinity for Niagara Falls, which he inherited from his grandfather, Fergus Cole. Fergus is loosely based on an actual historical figure, legendary Niagara river man William "Red" Hill. Tom can predict changes in the river and the falls, and he can sense when there is danger.

He also sees the flow of his beloved river and falls being leeched away by companies who are making their fortunes building electrical generators. While the growing availability of electric lighting and appliances makes life easier in many ways, these companies are assuring a future for themselves, during increasingly uncertain times, by creating a "need" for things that, until recently, people hadn't even known existed.

Tom connects with Bess. Her upper middle-class family opposes her relationship with Tom, especially when Bess has a proposal from a young man from an affluent family. Yet as Bess copes with an unspeakable loss, her relationship with Tom blossoms.

This book is, at its heart, a love story. It's a historical novel about World War I. It is also a study of the history of Niagara Falls, particularly on the Canadian side, strewn with actual bits of local color and history. All these layers are woven seamlessly together, and this author creates gorgeous prose. She also has a gift for storytelling. I found myself eager to pick up this novel every time I got the chance and reluctant to put it down.

Many thanks to Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea for this ARC which I won on a random drawing at her site.

See more reviews:
Darlene at Peeking Between the Pages -- she also has the book trailer posted, along with links
Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea
Kailana at Historical Tapestry
Serena at Savvy Verse and Wit
Amy at The House of the Seven Tails
Ti at Book Chatter
The Tome Traveler's Weblog
Julie at Booking Mama

Rating: 4.5

5- Cherished Favorite	4 - Keep in My Library	3 - Good Read	2 - Meh	1 - Definitely Not For Me

Under This Unbroken Sky by Shandi Mitchell

There is a black and white photograph of a family: a man, woman and five children. Scrawled on the back, in tight archaic script, are the words: Willow Creek, Alberta, 1933. This will be their only photograph together ...

Thus we are introduced to the Mykolayenkos, a family of Ukrainian immigrants, through a faded image. They escaped Communist oppression in their native country and are working relentlessly to eke out an existence in the harsh Northern Canadian prairie. In the introduction, readers are told that one of the people in the photograph will soon die, and two people -- not in the picture -- will be murdered. Throughout the story, watching this family's relentless struggles, I was waiting for the promised tragedy to strike. This contributed to a sense of suspense and foreboding that escalated throughout the story, ending with a heart-breaking climax.

This novel was crafted in an unusual style, a present tense narrative without dialogue. At first the use of present tense in a historical novel felt odd. But combined with the wealth of descriptive detail woven into the book, it gave the story a compelling sense of immediacy. I felt myself living on the prairie, enduring the brutal cold and relentless snow, seeing the stunning spring fields, and feeling a humid, bug-infested tundra summer. I also felt I was a part of the toil of sowing and harvesting wheat, gardening, and other quotidian tasks of life on a farm and of this family's ongoing struggle to survive.

The characters in the novel are also compelling. We see Teodore, sometimes harsh but hard-working, honorable, and passionately devoted to his family. His sister Anna, once beautiful and confident, is unraveling and unable to love her children. She feels trapped in her life and is obsessed with the coyotes who prowl the prairie at night, wild and free. Anna's husband Stefan, a former military officer, is the most despicable character in the book; he actually infuriated me. Teodore's wife Maria is incredibly resilient and loving. Each of the children has unique qualities and individual ways of responding to the hardships they face. My favorite is Leysa, Anna's physically disabled daughter. Her mother is unable to fully accept her because of her "defect," but her aunt Maria always finds a role for her in the family, never letting her feel that she has any less to contribute than anyone else. Leysa seemed so real to me that at times her story was painful to read.

In addition to a vividly described setting and vibrant characters, this book brings together many historical threads, including the changes in Eastern Europe wrought by Communism, the Great Depression and Prohibition. It also touches on prejudice faced by European immigrants in North America, where they were considered inferior to the English, and on the limitations imposed by gender roles.

While Under This Unbroken Sky is not a fun, light read, I thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful writing, well-paced suspense, unforgettable characters and wealth of themes explored. I highly recommend it to historical fiction lovers.

Read More Reviews: Rhapsody in Books Weblog; The Indextrious Reader


Rating: 4

5- Cherished Favorite	4 - Keep in My Library	3 - Good Read	2 - Meh	1 - Definitely Not For Me