Middle Chapters: Fall

[babzilla41]

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Fozzie wrote:

How do you feel about Shandi's descriptions of animals? Are other people picking up on any animal symbolism in Shandi's writing?

I have noticed animal parallelism. Leysa is like her chick --- both have a deformed foot. Anna wants to interact with a coyote, which is dangerous, like Stefan is dangerous and unpredictable.

And did you notice the tiny coyote on the book cover?

I did! After I noticed the house and family.

Message Edited by Fozzie on 08-12-2009 04:07 PM

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I also noticed the tiny coyote on the book cover.  Since reading Of Bees and Mist, I have been paying more attention to book covers. 

[babzilla41]

I HATE that Stefan is eyeing Dania and noticing how grown up and pretty she is....it makes me worry for her!! He's such a pig I wouldn't put anything past him.

[meme1]

I also thought that he was "looking"at Lesya.  He has no moral values so I think he is capable of anything evil.

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babzilla41 wrote:
I HATE that Stefan is eyeing Dania and noticing how grown up and pretty she is....it makes me worry for her!! He's such a pig I wouldn't put anything past him.

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[meme1]

I feel anxious as I read this novel. I'm fearful that more negative things are going to affect the people I truly care about.  (Well, don't include Stefan in that!)  Mitchell's character development is a strength to her writing.  I'm impressed that she has made me really care about her characters.  

I admire the mental and emotional strength that Maria has shown throughout the tribulations.  Her family's well-being is her primary goal.  She has imbedded this goal in her children, too.  

Anna and Stefan have no positive family life.  They are self-centered and are willing to use anyone for their own benefit.  It's scary to see the influence Stefan has on his son who he is "training" to be just like him. 

  The fall weather's harshness is a reality in the northern climes.  My home area is in northwestern MN -about 30 miles from the Canadian border.  Fall can be a beautiful time of the year, but frost and snow can come early.  (As an aside, Fairbanks, AK had frost a couple of days ago!)

[JaneM]

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scnole wrote:

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Claire-Wachtel wrote:

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JoyZ wrote: I haven't finished the book yet, trying to stay on schedule, but am anxious to finish to find out what happens with Dania and Petro and if the paper Katya burned is the deed.  I love suspense.

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JoyZ, I think you make several astute points in your post - - and I agree with your comment at the end. One of the things I loved so much when I first read Shandi's manuscript was the suspense. Based on the little clues she has left for the reader, we know something climactic will happen. At the time, I simply had to read onward to find out.

Are others enjoying the suspense? Or does it feel like something else to you?

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It feels like suspense to me.   Although I enjoy suspense, I am very worried about what is going to happen next to both families.  I'm not worried about what is going to happen to Stefan - I'm just so involved with these families that I know that he is going to cause "big trouble" for everyone.     I'm staying on schedule - but it is tough.   

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I also love the suspense and the foreshadowing.  And because we are invested in the characters and their outcome, it's a little like a horror movie - you know something dreadful will happen, but you can't stop watching.  And I think the paper Katya burned was the brown paper receipt Anna had written to indicate Theo had paid her the $10.  Which tells me that there is going to be a huge conflict over property ownership in the next section, and I can't wait to read it!

Jane M.

[LISA-BRYAN]

During autumn the temperatures are getting cooler and it has begun to snow... nature seems to be slowing down; however, the families must speed up to get everything done and out of  the fields and stored appropriately so that they will have food for the winter.

Teodor building the new home for his family prepared them for winter.  Planting many of acres of wheat helped his family so they could sell it so they could purchase other items they needed so desperately.

Maria planting the garden and then harvesting and either canning or selling the surplus prepared them for winter.

The children helping with the garden, crops, chickens, cow, etc all helped to prepare them for a long cold winter.

Teodor and Maria's house is a home where they are  surviving and working as a team.  Stefan and Anna's house is just a house --- everyone is dependent on Teodor's family in some way.... the adults are disfunctional and as a result Petro and Leysa are as well.  Anna's house was more of a home without Stefan.

Teodor was proud on 2 occassions --- 1) when he insisted on paying Anna $10 even though his family so desperately could use the money 2) makes moonshine and later drinks it with Stefan and gets drunk and stupid. 

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rkubie wrote:

Can you describe the Autumn season in this rural Canadian climate?

Theo and Maria's family are determined to survive. In what ways do you see this in each of the characters?

Now that Stefan has returned, we can see how each of these households operate-Can you compare what it's like to live inside each house?

How would you describe Anna and Stefan's family life, as opposed to Anna's household without Stefan?

Maria accuses Theo of being dangerously proud-Do you agree, or not?

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[Lil_Irish_Lass]

Well shoot I finished the book on lunch break today so now it's all blended together and I have SOOO much I want to discuss that I can't.

I think that Stefan's lusting after Leysa and Dania is very... real. To us they're babies, but in that place and time Dania is almost at marrying age. Doesn't make it any less disgusting but his mindset is slightly different than that of a grown man in 2009.

This book is a lot more beautiful with its story and imagery than I thought it would be. It's a pleasant surprise even if both are heartbreaking. 

[Claire-Wachtel]

It sounds like some of you noticed the coyote on the book cover right away; others needed to take a second look!

How did you like the jacket design on the whole? Did it tie into the title and story for you? It's something we're often thinking about as editors and publishers, and I'm eager to hear your thoughts.

On a related note, it sounds like many of you loved the title, too, and I've read your wonderful interpretations. Does the title still resonate for you as you read further along? Has its meaning changed over the course of the book? By the time I turned the last page, I know that, for me, it seemed as though the title had acquired five or six different meanings.

[Zephyr_Marie]

Stefan is one of those characters that do not become more likeable as the story progresses. He had me clenching my hands while I'd read.

[Lil_Irish_Lass]

Since it doesn't give anything away I honestly had forgotten about the title until there is a moment towards the end with Teo were he actually uses the phrase under this unbroken sky. I had a lightbulb moment and now I can't stop thinking about the meaning of an unbroken sky. I posted my thoughts in the separate thread on it.

I think it's a fabulous title as well as image and the book cover ties in with it nicely.

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Claire-Wachtel wrote:

It sounds like some of you noticed the coyote on the book cover right away; others needed to take a second look!

How did you like the jacket design on the whole? Did it tie into the title and story for you? It's something we're often thinking about as editors and publishers, and I'm eager to hear your thoughts.

On a related note, it sounds like many of you loved the title, too, and I've read your wonderful interpretations. Does the title still resonate for you as you read further along? Has its meaning changed over the course of the book? By the time I turned the last page, I know that, for me, it seemed as though the title had acquired five or six different meanings.

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[dhaupt]

Claire, I did notice the coyote on the cover and I think the cover is a good choice for the book, the pictures that we got at first helped set the stage and after those this cabin looks like a mansion. But all in all I think the cover captures the feel not only of the title but the story itself.

[Fozzie]

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Claire-Wachtel wrote:

How did you like the jacket design on the whole? Did it tie into the title and story for you? It's something we're often thinking about as editors and publishers, and I'm eager to hear your thoughts.

I just finished the book a couple of hours ago and am bursting with thoughts on the title, but will hold off until the next section of threads to comment on those.

I have been trying to pay more attention to cover art as it pertains to the book, though it has no influence on my decision about whether or not to read a book.  I think this cover is wonderful.  The proportions of the sky, the trees, and the ground as compared with the relatively small house, people, and coyote accurately portray how influential the surroundings are to the family and its survival.  I also like the colors, with the sky being the brightest.

[Sheltiemama]

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Claire-Wachtel wrote:

How do you feel about Shandi's descriptions of animals? Are other people picking up on any animal symbolism in Shandi's writing?

I think it's a very effective device. 

And did you notice the tiny coyote on the book cover?

I didn't! I'll have to look again.

[Sheltiemama]

The enormity of the sky makes me feel just how insignificant humans must feel under it. It makes me feel like the characters are up against something huge. They're so small in comparison to their environment, and there's so little influence they really can have on it.

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Fozzie wrote:

I have been trying to pay more attention to cover art as it pertains to the book, though it has no influence on my decision about whether or not to read a book.  I think this cover is wonderful.  The proportions of the sky, the trees, and the ground as compared with the relatively small house, people, and coyote accurately portray how influential the surroundings are to the family and its survival.  I also like the colors, with the sky being the brightest.

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[Read-n-Rider]

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How do you feel about Shandi's descriptions of animals? Are other people picking up on any animal symbolism in Shandi's writing?

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It is apparent to me, shown by the kindness and affection with which he treats him, that Teodor loves the horse.  They are both strong and steadfast, working uncomplainingly to get the hard jobs done.

Joan

Message Edited by Read-n-Rider on 08-13-2009 10:48 PM

[Read-n-Rider]

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Sheltiemama wrote:

The enormity of the sky makes me feel just how insignificant humans must feel under it. It makes me feel like the characters are up against something huge. They're so small in comparison to their environment, and there's so little influence they really can have on it.

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I agree, Sheltiemama; you've expressed very well how I feel about the significance of the title, too.  The sky is "unbroken," it goes on and on, and we are all just tiny specks beneath it, striving to survive--and find some happiness.

Joan

[Sunltcloud]

I love the jacket design and title though I didn't see the tiny coyote at the bottom at first. I had to take it with me on vacation and read in bright sunlight before I became aware of it.

The title went through my head off and on throughout my reading and I wondered how it would be translated into different languages. I suppose it depends on the interpretation, or an interpretation, be it unbroken as in "whole" or unbroken as in "uninterrupted" or unbroken as in the spiritual "eternal" or even as in "can't be cracked." 

My mother wrote poetry and short stories and at one point I wanted to translate some of it into English and had a hard time with some of the phrases. An example would be "mehr Meer;" she used it in a poem - it means more sea.  Since she carefully selected each word, I know she must have had an image of it, an image I can't duplicate in English without losing the original emphasis. The translation of homophones intrigues me. All translation intrigues me. But back to Ms. Mitchell's title for the novel; it's concept deepened and expanded with reading. It grew from a pale blue, dome-shaped ever-present entity with ultimate (secure) yet invisible (unpredictable) borders to a metaphor for faith, hope and endurance. 

As for the book jacket, I had to overcome my stereotypical idea of the prairie: flat, dotted with grasses, more shrubs than trees. Squinting worked. Squinting usually works when I want to see the idea behind a visual. I'm glad the shack is at the edge and it is populated. The coyote? Are you sure it isn't a prairie-wolf? Just kidding.

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Claire-Wachtel wrote:

It sounds like some of you noticed the coyote on the book cover right away; others needed to take a second look!

How did you like the jacket design on the whole? Did it tie into the title and story for you? It's something we're often thinking about as editors and publishers, and I'm eager to hear your thoughts.

On a related note, it sounds like many of you loved the title, too, and I've read your wonderful interpretations. Does the title still resonate for you as you read further along? Has its meaning changed over the course of the book? By the time I turned the last page, I know that, for me, it seemed as though the title had acquired five or six different meanings.

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[bookloverjb85]

I am a little behind, but I hope to catch up today and be done reading the next section by Monday.

When Stefan returned I knew that many things would go wrong.  I did not think that Anna would take him in so willingly though.  At first I didn't think she was going to, then that night she desired him.

When Teo and Myron went to get the wheat I knew that Stefan was going to say something.  I just had that feeling that he would ask for part of it and I was proven right.  I have to say that I have an extreme dislike for Stefan and any time he comes into the "picture" I know that something disastrous is going to happen.

I wanted to scream at Katya not to throw that piece of paper in the fire.  Even though it wasn't stated, I am sure that it was the one on which Anna wrote that the land is now Teo's.

It made me really upset when Petro started acting like his father, Stefan.  Petro was teasing Ivan and taking his things and saying that he can't have them because they that aren't his.  You can see that Petro looks up to his father, but unfortunately he is learning the completely wrong ways of acting and behaving from him.  I am pulling for this little boy and hoping that he makes it through and doesn't turn into his father.

I would agree that Teo is dangerously proud.  Even after the police came and searched the house he still wouldn't let Maria get rid of the alcohol.  He is putting his entire family and himself in extreme danger.

I love this book and I love that it captures you from the first page on.  I can't wait to read the rest and see what happens to these two families.

[jbnie]

I don't think that Stephen has a hold over Anna, I think she takes him back because she thinks that it expected off her.  Anna feels that she has no place to go.  In fact where would she go?  Stephen is your entire source of emotional support, whether good or bad. I think that Anna paid a high price for taking him back into her life.  We live in a time where family and friends often intervene into bad situations and offer good advice.  This was not the case in the time when Anna and Maria were living.  It's not good to apply our standards of living to events that happen over 50 years ago.

I think that Annan do that by taking Stephen back she was condemning herself to let misery.

[jbnie]

I agree with what you are expressing, but Theo is full of hope and so is Maria. Hope and faith are what keep us moving forward every day in life.  A lack of these traits is seen and how Anna and Stephen conduct their life.

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Sheltiemama wrote:

The enormity of the sky makes me feel just how insignificant humans must feel under it. It makes me feel like the characters are up against something huge. They're so small in comparison to their environment, and there's so little influence they really can have on it.

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Fozzie wrote:

I have been trying to pay more attention to cover art as it pertains to the book, though it has no influence on my decision about whether or not to read a book.  I think this cover is wonderful.  The proportions of the sky, the trees, and the ground as compared with the relatively small house, people, and coyote accurately portray how influential the surroundings are to the family and its survival.  I also like the colors, with the sky being the brightest.

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