Customer Reviews

The Floor of the Sky (Flyover Fiction)

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THE FLOOR OF THE SKY by Pamela Carter Joern
October 29, 2006

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Another great novel I've read this year has to be THE FLOOR OF THE SKY, the story of a family living in the rural farmlands of Nebraska. Beautifully written, the story focuses on granddaughter Lila, who has left her family back in Minnesota and has come to live with her grandmother Toby. Lila is pregnant, doesn't want to talk about it, but apparently has left home because she's not getting any support from her mother, Nola Jean. She has always loved her grandmother Toby, who tries her best to support Lila, who refuses to discuss the pregnancy and continues to harbor a sour attitude despite Toby's willingness to be there for her.

What made this story riveting are the layers that make up the book. The various characters all have secrets, and it's through Lila that the reader learns what the older generation has been hiding for decades. Gertie is the older sister of Toby, and the two are like night and day. Gertie is a bitter old woman whose husband is in a home suffering from Alzheimer's. Toby lives alone, but is full of life, but at the same time is preparing for her own death, feeling that it is soon her time to go. The two sisters do not get along, although Toby is living with Gertie because it is not safe for her to live alone anymore. Other characters come into play, most of whom were present when a tragedy decades ago took the lives of Toby and Gertie's mother, as well as David, the younger brother of George, a man that had lived on the property for as long as they remember, helping the family out with the land.

Lila's relationship with her cousin Clay is another facet to the story. The two had been very close growing up, but hadn't seen each other in years. Now, Clay is involved with a married woman, and Lila is not happy with this. As time passes, Lila begins to come to terms with her pregnancy, and as she gets acquainted with the people that surround her grandmother, Lila begins to open up.

THE FLOOR OF THE SKY is probably one of the best novels I've read in 2006. Intriguing characters drive the story to its conclusion, with a tragic ending that in some ways helps bring resolution. The writing is superb and eloquent, and while it may come across as a more literary effort, readers will be drawn to the story because of its themes of family and forgiveness. THE FLOOR OF THE SKY is highly recommended.

I loved it! The undercurrents of family secrets along with the stark setting of the Sand Hills, Nebraska, makes this a great read. Pamela Joern did a great job of setting the story, developing the characters, and like a magician, drew me into the story in a compelling way. I'd recommend it to anyone.

A poetic and loving portrait of the Western Plains. A restrained and understated tale of love and loss; of tragedy and family secrets that reflect its harsh, remote, but beautiful setting.

The story takes place in the Sand Hills of western Nebraska during a summer.

Luther Bolden was an evil, corrupt old man. He hated his children; his hatred for them reached from beyond the grave. Luther built a large ostentatous house in the Nebraska Sand Hills. He was the richest man in the area and he lorded his wealth over the neighbors. He invited them to fancy parties. They all hated him.

His children are Toby, a gutsy old woman; she was a gutsy kid who didn't like her name of Gwendolyn. When she was three years old she named herself after the family dog. From then on she was Toby;she is the best of the three.
Gertie is a witch, John a wimp.

Toby and George, who worked on her fathers' ranch, never had life easy. Tobys' first love was David, George's younger brother. David died in an automobile accident. George lost his young wife in childbirth. The baby died also. He never wanted to remarry and was a big brother to Toby. Gertie is
an embittered old woman, sharp tongued, always sniping at everything and everybody. Her husband, Howard, has Alzheimers and had to be placed in an Alzheimers Home. Gertie still thinks and always has that every woman is in love with her husband. She lives with Toby in the big house that their father built because she has macular degeneration and can't stay alone. And how she aggravates Toby.

Gerties' grandson Clay is living on her farm, her son is dead, her daughter-in-law remarried. She complains that Clay is cheating her out of her property.

Then into this house of old people comes Lila, Tobys' only grandchild, sixteen and pregnant. The romance was short lived. The young man has another girlfriend.

Lila reconnects with Cousin Clay, he is nineteen. When the two were younger they were close. Both are only children. Clay is romancing a young married woman with a small child. Lila disapproves. This is bad news.

The story is seen through the eyes of the invincible Toby who is about to lose the land and the house she was born in and loves. Lila tells her story. She is angry because her mother doesn't want to look at her and has sent her to stay with her grandmother. George Bates has always worked hard, doesn't know who his father was and is a good man and a friend to this family. And Gertie, overly religious, quotes from the Bible, but is bitter about the cards life has dealt her.

The characters and setting, descriptions of homes, area, doings around town,the town itself, the land and environment of all bring the reader into the story.

Lila becomes interested in the family cemetary and wonders about the names on the tombstones. Who were these people? How did they die? Clay takes Lila to see the prayer wheel or mantra, rocks dragged from a distance to make this unusual object. This is a special place. Who built it and why? The beauty of the land, its sunrises and sunsets is described.

Lila gets a photograph of her great grandmother, Rosemary, Tobys' mother. She places it in her room talks to the picture, consults with her long dead great grandmother, makes a confident of her.

There is the beauty of the characters naming the stars after deceased loved ones, connecting those who have gone with the living.

This is a beautifully crafted story. Good read. I highly recommend it.

This is a compelling story with a strong sense of place. The intertwined stories (in the present and in the past) make for some surprising (but believable) plot twists.

I almost didn't read this book because I dislike stories told in present tense. But having nothing to read at the moment, I gave it a shot. A good solid story, well-told, with likable characters. I could see it as a television movie of the week.

Toby Jenkins is an aging widow on the verge of losing her family's ranch in Pamela Carter Joern's superbly crafted novel, "The Floor Of The Sky". When in the midst of her crises Toby's 16-year-old granddaughter Lila shows up for the summer pregnant, painful decisions about the future must be dealt with as Lila uncovers festering secrets about her grandmother's past. Discoveries that compel Toby to reconsider the ambiguous ties she holds to her embittered sister Gettie, her loyal ranch hand George, her not-so-sympathetic daughter Nola Jean, and to herself. "The Floor Of The Sky" is a true gem of the storyteller's art, written with great compassion, wit and wisdom about the human condition, family secrets, and the sweeping changes in a contemporary rural America. "The Floor Of The Sky" is a welcome and enthusiastically recommended addition to personal reading lists and community library collections.

While I was reading THE FLOOR OF THE SKY I kept thinking about how I would cast this as a movie. Toby Jenkins could be played easily by Shirley MacLaine or Ellyn Burstyn. Robert Redford would be a perfect George in my estimation, and I'm sure Robert Duvall would fit in too. I'm not sure about Lila, Toby's pregnant, sixteen year old granddaughter. Maybe a newcomer, an unknown actress would be the best choice for this role. I could go on, but I think you get the idea. This wonderfully told story, pure and poetic in style, would make a wonderful movie.

This story takes place in the Sandhills of Nebraska. I've probably driven through there without stopping, but I can imagine the ranch and the house described as though it's an old home of mine. The nearby town is a place where I'd like to visit (although I'm not sure I could live there). I love the way George talks about the stars overhead, stars I haven't seen in years, if ever.

This book is one of those that you don't want to end. I've been reading it slowly and with great joy. It's not a happy story, but it's not a sad one either. Full of family secrets, wonderful descriptions, and people who will stay close to my heart.

This book was a pleasant surprise. It was about real people and life problems that were relatable to the common person. As the story unfolds and the past is revisited by the main characters, we learn their stories that aren't really secrets, but circumstances that people have accepted and moved on. I appreciated that the people did just that - they moved on from their problems instead of pointing fingers or putting blame on others. In fact, they even embraced those that caused them pain knowing that everyone makes mistakes and one can either forgive or be bitter and hateful. These characters made good choices.

4-.
Set in Kansas, a large farm. Only Toby (Gwedolyn) is left to try to preserve and make a go on the old place with handyman George. Characters and plot to keep you turning the pages. Sister Gertie who married a man who didn't love her and lives in constant resentment and anger. Lila, Toby's granddaughter, pregnant by a boy who doesn't want her or the baby, comes to live with Toby. She stirs things up. The Alhambra homstead is deeply in debt and hounded by Malcolm Lord the local banker. There's Clay, Gertie and Howard's grandson, who is left to live on the old place and keep it going. Tim Pickford, a nerdowell druggie, lives on the place. Owen, the smart kid who works at the library. Meets Lila. Well, enough to keep you more than mildly interested.