“Beneath Bending Skies” is the second book I read by Jane Kilpatrick. With her previous book, I gave what seemed to me to be a rather harsh review. I decided to give her a second chance as an author with this new book. The premise intrigued me.
The book is based on the true story of Mary “Mollie” Sheehan Ronan and her husband Peter, who ran the Jocko Agency in Montana for Flatland Native American tribes in the area. We get her background moving around the country prior to marriage with a domineering father who breaks up her courtship for basically no reason and commands her to “honor her father.” The book careens from event to event, fires, births, deaths, momentary fears during the Nez Pearce war, and so forth. Each little segment is joined together with platitudes of Mollie “being agile” or longing for her father’s acceptance of whatever she did.
Once again, I found myself completely unable to connect with the characters because they have no emotional depth. It is just one series of events after the other. People float in and out of the narrative, and you don’t miss them. They barely make an impression. The role of the Irish and the Catholic Church, a substantial force behind many of the events, especially in a time period of great prejudice against both groups, goes completely unexplored. I found myself wondering if I would be better off reading the source text.
Equally disturbing was the relationship between Mollie and her father that bordered on emotional incest. The father is obsessed with her hair. He buys presents for her and fails to do so for his new wife. He orders everything she does and moves the family anytime they connect with the people around them. He prevents her marriage for years to keep her beside him. Even the little explanation of possible motivation for it comes across incredibly creepy. Whether or not this was actually a part of Mollie’s life, I do not know as there was no clarification on this in the notes at the end of the book.
I was interested in the book because I knew nothing about the history of Montana. While this book offered a peek into its founding, it offered little nuance. I walked away deeply disappointed again in what could have fascinating, entertaining, and stimulating story of this amazing woman’s life. I received an advanced copy from the Revell Reads blogger team.
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