Photograph and First Impressions

[Rachel-K]

How is the description of this 1933 photograph an introduction to this story? What does it tell us about who this family is and what may be going to happen? Do you think the description "gives away" too much, or does it entice you to keep reading?

As you begin reading, please share your first impressions of this family and their difficult lives. Where have they come from, and how have they made it this far?
 

[aprilh]

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rkubie wrote:

How is the description of this 1933 photograph an introduction to this story? What does it tell us about who this family is and what may be going to happen?

I loved that this story started out with the photograph of the family. It was so descriptive, I felt like I was holding this photograph in my hands after discovering it hiding many decades later. It gave us a wonderfully vivid picture of the people were to meet.

I liked that the family was described as staring straight ahead, expressionless, arms  rigidly at their sides as the photographer counted off the seconds. But, as soon as the shutter clicked, they were all smiles. I felt that meant there was a lot of love in that family.

Do you think the description "gives away" too much, or does it entice you to keep reading?

This small introduction had me hooked from the very beginning. The fact that we learn about the farm foreclosing, one of the people in the photograph dying, and two people not in the photograph being murdered only made me want to read further to see how this family got to that point.

As you begin reading, please share your first impressions of this family and their difficult lives. Where have they come from, and how have they made it this far?

Teodor and Maria fled the Ukraine with their four young children, stealing the three horses and traveling only at night so as not to be seen, so they could leave that country and make a better life for themselves and their children. They then had to travel by ship and train into Canada to start all over again. Their sheer will to make a better life for their family drove them on. This was so amazing to me. I couldn't imagine being able to take barely anything I own and travel to a new country, to start all over, trying to learn a new language and build a whole new life from nothing. It really makes you respect and appreciate what your ancestors must have been through to leave everything behind to come to a new country.

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[DSaff]

The photograph gives us basic information about the family, but for me, was also a harbinger of the future. We see seven members of the family, and we can read about their clothing and hair styles. I could "picture" this family easily, and the picture seems typical of the time period. There were, however, some disturbing notes here for me as well. 1. "This will be their only photograph together."  (What is going to happen to them? Or, is this the only opportunity to have a photograph taken? Good hooks to get me into the story.) 2. "Though they all wear summer clothes, they are standing in four inches of snow." (Yikes! No wonder they were all solemn in the picture - gritting their teeth until the deed is done.)

As I read the rest of the page, I found that they would soon lose their farm, one member would die, and two others we don't see in the picture will be murdered. Will this family survive? Who will die? be murdered? These hooks compelled me to begin my adventure into Under This Unbroken Sky.

[bookloverjb85]

I think the photograph is a great introduction to the story.  It makes you wonder about what happens to this family that this is the only picture of them all.  It also leaves you wondering about the two other people who are not photographed.  The photograph description lets us know that there is going to be an intense story leading up to it and after it.  I think that this first part of the book leaves you wanting more and needing to find out what happens to this seemingly happy family.

 My first impressions of this family is that everything seems to be going well for them, Theo comes home, the garden is doing well, the field is planted, the house is built, and Anna seems somewhat happy for once.  Then a fire hits, but all is not destroyed, then a dust storm hits. It seems that the family just can't win, when everything is going right something comes along to destroy it.

[booksJT]

I think author had a great idea when she used the photograph as the introduction. It gives you an idea about the family and what to expect in the upcoming pages.  This must have been a happier time for this family when the photo  was taken.

I think the description is a little teaser and wants you to see what happens next. It is like a good mystery that holds your interest until the end of the book.

As I am reading the book, I found that they would lose everything that they have worked so hard to keep. The family has come from meager beginings and now they have suffered a castrophe. Will the  family members survive and prosper after this castrophe? Will Anna and her husband rekindle their marriage?   

[ReadingwithMo]

I agree that the description of the photograph is an appropriate introduction to the novel. A photograph portrays its subjects in a very narrow view. As the viewer of the photograph, or the description of in this case, you form an oppinion based on this narrow view. I believe that it is fitting in that the description portrays elements that are true to their view as well as being misleading in some aspects.

[marciliogq]

The photograph gives us preliminary information to create the imagery of the ambience we are going to challenge next pages. It's an important portrayal of a just arrived family in a foreign country and at the same time creates a revival in our minds cause it's quite impossible not to remember our own family photos and the rise of their stories. Some information are relevant at enticing us to keep reading: two people who do not appear in the photo will be dead during the course of the story. This mix of drama and suspense is one of the most interesting ingredients of the narrative.

I realized adults and children have practically the same tasks. Teodor's children do the hardest works while he is in prison what shows us how difficult were their lives in Canada as well as the ones of thousands of immigrants like them. What entirely caught my attention was the sand Maria brought in a cloth when they left Ukrania: a way she found to carry her homeland near her heart.

[KathyS]

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rkubie wrote:

How is the description of this 1933 photograph an introduction to this story? What does it tell us about who this family is and what may be going to happen? Do you think the description "gives away" too much, or does it entice you to keep reading?

As you begin reading, please share your first impressions of this family and their difficult lives. Where have they come from, and how have they made it this far?
 

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As I looked at this family photo, and read the words by this author, I felt a forboding, not just from what was said [about the loss of three people] in the first 30 pages, but from how these words were formed.  The short, almost staccato sentence structure gave me a feeling of the harsh reality of what this family was going to have to witness in their lives.  It was as if this author wanted to punch me in the stomach, to make me feel what this family was going to have to endure.  I honestly felt a deep connection to these solemn faces, the clothes they wore, the atmosphere of nature which surrounded them, the harshness of it all.  Each of these people were one, together, but separate.

Kathy S.

[michaelsjlrc]

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rkubie wrote:

How is the description of this 1933 photograph an introduction to this story? What does it tell us about who this family is and what may be going to happen? Do you think the description "gives away" too much, or does it entice you to keep reading?

As you begin reading, please share your first impressions of this family and their difficult lives. Where have they come from, and how have they made it this far?
 

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I had mixed feelings about the photograph introduction. I agree with earlier posts that it does give a taste of what the family is like, and a foreshadowing of what is to come.  I'm not in agreement that it made me want to dive right in and read more.  Knowing that one of them would be dead and 2 people murdered gave me pause - I worried that it would be a character that I liked.  For some reason, I haven't formed any strong feelings toward these characters yet as I'm reading this book, and I'm thinking it may be that I'm not letting myself get emotionally involved because I know some of them are going to die.  I'm reading to the schedule, so I don't know who it is going to be.

As for first impressions of the family so far, they all seem a little stereotypical to me - the strong silent type father, the stoic wife, the good boy son trying to live up to his fathers footsteps, the princess daughter and the good girl daughter and the all boy son.  They haven't become unique individuals for me yet.  I don't envy them the tough path that they've had, and it doesn't sound like it is going to get any easier for them.

[dhaupt]

Good morning every one and how great it is to be back here with all my friends from FL.

First of all I have to say WOW, this is a very powerful book, with wonderfully tragic characters some of whom you pull for and some of whom you wish to send straight to He-l.

My first thought of the photograph was that it couldn't have been of the family we're reading about because of the date differences, so I was confused. I don't feel it gave away too much, but the enticement to read on was definitely there.

The family's fierce survival attitude has seen them through countless tragedies, to be welcomed to a new country by that government only to be prisoned by that same entity because of not being able to understand the language and getting bad and conflicting advise and aid. The father's love of his family also makes my heart hurt, how he comes home from prison and retakes his place. It made me almost cry when Ivan says on page 27 "it's him".

So far they've made it on grit, on faith and on the love of each other. 

Message Edited by dhaupt on 08-03-2009 11:13 AM

[bookowlie]

Great post, Donna!

I was also hooked after reading about the photograph.  When I read that they would lose their farm, one would die, and two not in the photo would be murdered, I was intrigued to find out what would happen to these people.  There was a foreboding of the future tragedies to come and it made me want to read further.  I thought it was a great way to begin a book.

Carolyn

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DSaff wrote:

The photograph gives us basic information about the family, but for me, was also a harbinger of the future. We see seven members of the family, and we can read about their clothing and hair styles. I could "picture" this family easily, and the picture seems typical of the time period. There were, however, some disturbing notes here for me as well. 1. "This will be their only photograph together."  (What is going to happen to them? Or, is this the only opportunity to have a photograph taken? Good hooks to get me into the story.) 2. "Though they all wear summer clothes, they are standing in four inches of snow." (Yikes! No wonder they were all solemn in the picture - gritting their teeth until the deed is done.)

As I read the rest of the page, I found that they would soon lose their farm, one member would die, and two others we don't see in the picture will be murdered. Will this family survive? Who will die? be murdered? These hooks compelled me to begin my adventure into Under This Unbroken Sky.

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[Aggelia]

For me, the description of the photograph reminded me of many similar photographs in my family. There are so many such photographs that sometimes I forget to wonder about the story behind each one. I've been torn about whether or not the revelation of the murder and deaths gives too much away. What it does do is remind me - or jolt me into remembering - that each of these pictures has a story. And the story is much less bleak and flat than the picture seems. After having read the back cover, I was not expecting the story to have such rich, warm texture. The children maintain a sense of hope and joy, when the story the adults are living is much more depressing. Blessings, Jennifer

[DSaff]

thank you  

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bookowlie wrote:

Great post, Donna!

I was also hooked after reading about the photograph.  When I read that they would lose their farm, one would die, and two not in the photo would be murdered, I was intrigued to find out what would happen to these people.  There was a foreboding of the future tragedies to come and it made me want to read further.  I thought it was a great way to begin a book.

Carolyn

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DSaff wrote:

The photograph gives us basic information about the family, but for me, was also a harbinger of the future. We see seven members of the family, and we can read about their clothing and hair styles. I could "picture" this family easily, and the picture seems typical of the time period. There were, however, some disturbing notes here for me as well. 1. "This will be their only photograph together."  (What is going to happen to them? Or, is this the only opportunity to have a photograph taken? Good hooks to get me into the story.) 2. "Though they all wear summer clothes, they are standing in four inches of snow." (Yikes! No wonder they were all solemn in the picture - gritting their teeth until the deed is done.)

As I read the rest of the page, I found that they would soon lose their farm, one member would die, and two others we don't see in the picture will be murdered. Will this family survive? Who will die? be murdered? These hooks compelled me to begin my adventure into Under This Unbroken Sky.

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[DSaff]

I, too, liked the picture of Maria carrying the dirt from her homeland to her new home.

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marciliogq wrote:

The photograph gives us preliminary information to create the imagery of the ambience we are going to challenge next pages. It's an important portrayal of a just arrived family in a foreign country and at the same time creates a revival in our minds cause it's quite impossible not to remember our own family photos and the rise of their stories. Some information are relevant at enticing us to keep reading: two people who do not appear in the photo will be dead during the course of the story. This mix of drama and suspense is one of the most interesting ingredients of the narrative.

I realized adults and children have practically the same tasks. Teodor's children do the hardest works while he is in prison what shows us how difficult were their lives in Canada as well as the ones of thousands of immigrants like them. What entirely caught my attention was the sand Maria brought in a cloth when they left Ukrania: a way she found to carry her homeland near her heart.

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[SapphicKris]

I liked the description of the photograph at the beginning of the book, but didn't let it influence my opinion of the story to come at all. In fact, once I started reading the story and getting connected to the characters I forgot about the photograph description. The storytelling is so good, I find myself immersed in the characters as they are in the moment. I do find myself constantly wanting to read just one more section to see what happens to these folks I have come to know.

[dhaupt]

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DSaff wrote:

I, too, liked the picture of Maria carrying the dirt from her homeland to her new home.

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marciliogq wrote:

The photograph gives us preliminary information to create the imagery of the ambience we are going to challenge next pages. It's an important portrayal of a just arrived family in a foreign country and at the same time creates a revival in our minds cause it's quite impossible not to remember our own family photos and the rise of their stories. Some information are relevant at enticing us to keep reading: two people who do not appear in the photo will be dead during the course of the story. This mix of drama and suspense is one of the most interesting ingredients of the narrative.

I realized adults and children have practically the same tasks. Teodor's children do the hardest works while he is in prison what shows us how difficult were their lives in Canada as well as the ones of thousands of immigrants like them. What entirely caught my attention was the sand Maria brought in a cloth when they left Ukrania: a way she found to carry her homeland near her heart.

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that touched my heart too and how she mixed it with the new soil.

[janv]

The photograph sets the stage for the story to come.  We get a hint of how poor they are, dressed in their church best "summer" clothes in four inches of snow -- the mother not even owning a pair of stocking! Their "expressionless" eyes told me they had already suffered and struggled too much in life, though their deep breath and smiles following the family photo revealed a strong love for each other and for life itself.  Unfortunately for this family, we are told that tragedy lies ahead.  The whole concept of a "photo" made me feel personally attached to them ... almost as if they were my OWN ancestors ... increasing my desire to know what happens in their future!  This small snapshot of basic information is like fish bait: it it catches you ... hook, line and sinker ... then reels you in to read on.

Before Stalin, the family had a good life in Ukraina. But that good life turned into starvation and a struggle to stay alive.  Fleeing the country with few possessions, they journey to Canada with hopes of a free and better life.  Arriving on the untamed land of their new home, old struggles are replaced by new ones and I found myself utterly amazed by the challenges and hardships they endured. Maria's strength is awesome and Anna's weakness is palpable.

[jabrkeKB]

The photograph hints at the trouble and hard times that the family will endure. I do not feel that the description gives away too much. It did entice me to keep reading but once I got into the story I forgot about the photograph.

One thing I found odd about the photo was that the family smiled. In my experience with photos from this time period usually the people did not smile.

[JaneM]

I loved the Photograph page and it reminded me of one of the photos posted from Shandi Mitchell from the National Archives of a family all together.  I had to go back and check the photo, but no snow, and the wrong number of folks, but maybe she used it as inspiration.   I also liked the penultimate paragraph with the foreshadowing of what was to coming.  It made me instantly want to begin the story and discover who these people are and what tragedies affected their lives.

[pagese]

I haven't read anything but the page containing the description of the photograph.  It made for a great introduction.  And for someone who was unsure if they would like this book, it was a sure fire way to make me want to read more.