Canadian Fiction

Finished November 14
Under This Unbroken Sky by Shandi Mitchell
This novel had me glued to it until I finished it in one sitting. We follow Teodor Mykolayenko and his family from the spring of 1938 until the spring of 1939. The Mykolayenko's are immigrants from the Ukraine, who have settled in Alberta.
Teodor has just returned to his family after a year spent in jail for stealing his own grain. His wife and children have been living in a shed on the land of his sister Anna and her family. Anna has agreed to pay the fee to homestead the land beside her own, with Teodor breaking the land and taking on the ownership of it. He and his family work hard to break and plant the land, build a house and barn, and make a home for themselves.
When Anna's shiftless and cruel husband returns, both families find themselves fighting to defend what they have worked so hard for.
This novel gives a real feel for the difficulty of homesteading, the difficulty of living in a land where you don't speak the language and don't have a support system to assist you. This is a gripping story of a family where each character comes through deeply.

Epic Audiobook

Finished November 13
Cathedral of the Sea by Ildefonso Falcones, translated by Nick Caistor, read by Paul Michael
This long (18 CD) book is a gripping tale that follows the lives Bernard Estanyol and his son Arnau. Bernard was born a serf, and when his father dies his lord takes advantage of numerous rights that enrage and frustrate Bernard.
As a last resort he and his infant son Arnau escape to Barcelona, where they take refuge with Bernard's sisters family, a family that Bernard and his father helped to be successful as potter artisans. The city is just beginning two large building projects, a cathedral and the church of Santa Maria de la Mar. Santa Maria is a church built by the people for the people and this book also revolves around its construction.
As a boy, Arnau joins the guild of men who transport goods, the bastaixos. This guild also hauls stones from the quarry to Santa Maria to be used to build the church and Arnau becomes a true member of the guild by hauling his first stone.
In the various times of crisis the city faces, Arnau survives severe hunger, joins the king's army, and defends Jews attacked by prejudiced zealots. He becomes a successful and respected member of the community.
When he is betrayed and brought on charges before the Inquisition, he learns who his true friends are and how much Barcelona has become his home.
I learned a lot of history here, but in a very entertaining way. The book offers moments of hearbreak and hope and I am not surprised it was so successful in Spain. It won the Euskadi de Plata 2006 for the best novel in Spanish, the Que Leer 2007 Prize for the best book, as well as the Italian Giovanni Boccaccio 2007 award for the best foreign author. It has been published in thirty-two countries.

British-American Fiction

Finished November 11
After You by Julie Buxbaum
This novel tells the story of a summer from the point of view of a mid-thirties American woman, Ellie Lerner. Ellie has flown to London from Boston suddenly when her best friend Lucy has been murdered. Worse, Lucy's 8-year-old daughter Sophie witnessed the attack. Lucy's husband Greg is struggling to deal with it, and Ellie steps in where she is needed, abandoning her own life.
Ellie has left her job and her husband Phillip to be there, and Phillip is not understanding her need to be there for Sophie and Greg, and not be with him.
As Ellie helps Sophie deal with her guilt and grief, they read The Secret Garden and find that life has its pleasures still. Ellie also finds out that despite being best friends with Lucy for more than thirty years, she doesn't know her as well as she thought she did. Ellie begins to realize she hasn't faced her own life's issues and that she must confront them to move on with her life.
Dealing with emotional pain and regret, this novel takes us into Ellie's world.

Literary Fiction

Finished November 10
Love and Summer by William Trevor
Set in the village of Rathmoye in Ireland, this story tells of a few months one summer. A young man appears in the village on the day of the funeral for an prominent woman, Mrs Connulty. He had only come to photograph the burned out cinema, but takes photos of the funeral. Miss Connulty, liberated by the death of her mother keeps an eye on the young photographer, Florian Kilderry and witnesses the events of the summer.
On a farm near the village, the farmer Dillahan lives with his new wife. He also lives with guilt over the accidental death of his first wife and their child. His new wife, Ellie, is a convent girl who came to work for him after the accident and stayed in marriage.
When Ellie encounters Florian, she is drawn to him, and begins an attachment that can't hope to end well.
As expected, Trevor is capable of making literature out of ordinary lives and drama in everyday happenings. You feel the strong emotions present in these characters, and find yourself inextricably drawn into their lives.

Canadian Fiction

Finished November 9
Your Sad Eyes and Unforgettable Mouth by Edeet Ravel
This book was recommended to me back in January and I finally got around to reading it. I really enjoyed it. The novel is very character-driven, centering around Maya, daughter of a Holocaust survivor. Maya's father died before she was born and she lives with her mother and grandmother. She is a bit of a misfit and feels it until one summer when she attends an unorthodox summer camp. The following summer she meets and becomes friends with Rosie, another daughter of Holocaust survivors and embarks on a new life embracing her Jewish culture as a way of staying close to Rosie.
As we see Maya coming to terms with her feelings and her impulses, we are made aware of her motivations and thoughts.
This is a book of a woman coming to terms with her life.

Dog Book

Finished November 7
Everything for a Dog by Ann M Martin
This book follows three characters: Bone, Charlie and Henry. Bone is a dog, born a stray and after a short stint in a home, a stray again.
Charlie is a boy whose family has had a terrible loss. His dog Sunny comforts him and becomes his best friend as he recovers.
Henry has wanted a dog for years, but his parents still won't let him have one.
As these three stories come together we see how the bond between a dog and their owner is a strong one.
There were a few bits that had me crying, but the overall story ended on a good note.

Feel Good Novel

Finished November 6
Home Safe by Elizabeth Berg
I found this book a quick read, but a very enjoyable one. The main character Helen Ames is a writer, or at least she was until she hit the writing block she is currently up against. The block began eleven months ago when her husband died suddenly.
Helen has gone from depending on her husband to do certain things to depending on her daughter. And while she depends on her daughter, she still sometimes treats her daughter too much like a child. Her best friend Midge is urging her to move on.
When Helen discovers from her accountant that her husband withdrew most of their retirement savings in a large withdrawal shortly before he died, she doesn't know what to think. Because of her worry over money, she decides to take a job teaching a creative writing course, something she would never have considered before.
A phone call from a stranger leads her to discover things about both her husband and herself that she would never have guessed. She also finds a new relationship with her daughter.
Elizabeth Berg's books always leave me feeling good and this one is no exception.