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Of This Earth: A Mennonite Boyhood in the Boreal Forest
A beautiful, moving memoir of a boy’s coming of age, infused with a deep love of the land, from one of Canada’s most cherished and acclaimed writers.
In Of This Earth, Rudy Wiebe gives vivid life again to the vanished world of Speedwell, Saskatchewan, an isolated, poplar-forested, mostly Mennonite community – and Rudy’s first home. Too young to do heavy work, Rudy witnessed a way of life that was soon to disappear. And we experience with him the hard labour of clearing the stony, silty bushland; the digging out of precious wells one bucket of dirt at a time; sorrow at the death of a beloved sister; the disorienting searches for grazing cattle in the vast wilderness sloughs and the sweet discovery of the power of reading.
Rare personal photographs (reproduced throughout the book) and the fragile memories of those who are left give shape to the story of Mennonite immigrants building a life in Canada, the growth and decline of the small Speedwell community, the sway of religion, and a young boy’s growing love of the extreme beauty of the aspen forests – as well as how all these elements came to inform his destiny as a writer.
A hymn to a lost place and a distant time, Of This Earth follows the best of memoirs in the tradition of Sharon Butala’s The Perfection of the Morning and W. G. Sebald’s Austerlitz . It is an evocation of the Canadian west that only a writer of Rudy Wiebe’s powers could summon.
From the Hardcover edition.
In Of This Earth, Rudy Wiebe gives vivid life again to the vanished world of Speedwell, Saskatchewan, an isolated, poplar-forested, mostly Mennonite community – and Rudy’s first home. Too young to do heavy work, Rudy witnessed a way of life that was soon to disappear. And we experience with him the hard labour of clearing the stony, silty bushland; the digging out of precious wells one bucket of dirt at a time; sorrow at the death of a beloved sister; the disorienting searches for grazing cattle in the vast wilderness sloughs and the sweet discovery of the power of reading.
Rare personal photographs (reproduced throughout the book) and the fragile memories of those who are left give shape to the story of Mennonite immigrants building a life in Canada, the growth and decline of the small Speedwell community, the sway of religion, and a young boy’s growing love of the extreme beauty of the aspen forests – as well as how all these elements came to inform his destiny as a writer.
A hymn to a lost place and a distant time, Of This Earth follows the best of memoirs in the tradition of Sharon Butala’s The Perfection of the Morning and W. G. Sebald’s Austerlitz . It is an evocation of the Canadian west that only a writer of Rudy Wiebe’s powers could summon.
From the Hardcover edition.
416 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
85 people are currently reading
199 people want to read
About the author
Rudy Wiebe
38 books44 followersWiebe was born at Speedwell, near Fairholme, Saskatchewan in what would later become his family’s chicken barn. For thirteen years he lived in an isolated Mennonite community of about 250 people. He did not speak English until age six since Mennonites at that time customarily spoke Low German at home and standard German at Church. He attended the small school three miles from his farm and the Speedwell Mennonite Brethren Church.
He received his B.A. in 1956 from the University of Alberta and then studied at the University of Tübingen in West Germany. In 1958 he married Tena Isaak, with whom he had two children.
He is deeply committed to the literary culture of Canada and has shown a particular interest in the traditions and struggles of people in the Prairie provinces, both whites and Aboriginals.
Wiebe won the Governor General's Award for Fiction twice, for The Temptations of Big Bear (1973) and A Discovery of Strangers (1994). He was awarded the Royal Society of Canada's Lorne Pierce Medal in 1986. In 2000 he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.
He received his B.A. in 1956 from the University of Alberta and then studied at the University of Tübingen in West Germany. In 1958 he married Tena Isaak, with whom he had two children.
He is deeply committed to the literary culture of Canada and has shown a particular interest in the traditions and struggles of people in the Prairie provinces, both whites and Aboriginals.
Wiebe won the Governor General's Award for Fiction twice, for The Temptations of Big Bear (1973) and A Discovery of Strangers (1994). He was awarded the Royal Society of Canada's Lorne Pierce Medal in 1986. In 2000 he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
June 14, 2018
Being a good Canadian I love sweet stories about growing up on the prairies. "Of this Earth: A Mennonite Boyhood in the Boreal Forest" is a worthy addition to the canon that includes "Obasan" (Joy Kogawa), "The Dog Who Wouldn't be" (Farley Mowat), "La petite poule d'eau" (Gabrielle Roy), and "Who has seen the Wind" (W.O. Mitchell). Although Wiebe's book is highly worthy it is not as good as any of the others that I have just mentioned. It is not even the best book about growing up as a Mennonite. The honour in this category easly goes to Miriam Toews' very remarkable "Complicated Kindness".
If you have not been overexposed to the genre as I have, Wiebe's book contains may excellent qualities. His family were among the last Mennonites to arrive in Canada having been chased out of Russia in the 1930s by Stalin. This means that Wiebe offers great insight into the refugee experience. Being among the last to arrive also affected Wiebe's experience in that his family was settled on on land that was not suitable for agriculture thus his book provides an interesting chronicle of the members of his community giving up and moving to the city where they were able to easily earn a comfortable living. The descriptions of his grief of his sister's death as a teenager is also highly touching.
"Of his Earth" is a very good book but I had been hoping for more. If you are interested in the topic it is quite likely that you will enjoy it more than I did.
If you have not been overexposed to the genre as I have, Wiebe's book contains may excellent qualities. His family were among the last Mennonites to arrive in Canada having been chased out of Russia in the 1930s by Stalin. This means that Wiebe offers great insight into the refugee experience. Being among the last to arrive also affected Wiebe's experience in that his family was settled on on land that was not suitable for agriculture thus his book provides an interesting chronicle of the members of his community giving up and moving to the city where they were able to easily earn a comfortable living. The descriptions of his grief of his sister's death as a teenager is also highly touching.
"Of his Earth" is a very good book but I had been hoping for more. If you are interested in the topic it is quite likely that you will enjoy it more than I did.
October 5, 2023
A thoughtful memoir of prairie life
I appreciated this book because it portrays the back breaking sometimes heartbreaking hardship of our ancestors who worked so hard and sacrificed so much trusting that God would guide them and their families to the goid life that we now enjoy and too often take for granted.
I wonder if our younger entitled generation would survive in such conditions.
Having lived for more than a decade in the prairies this was somewhat of a nostalgic and moving testimony of how people once lived their entire lives struggling to survive so that their children could one day thrive.
I appreciated this book because it portrays the back breaking sometimes heartbreaking hardship of our ancestors who worked so hard and sacrificed so much trusting that God would guide them and their families to the goid life that we now enjoy and too often take for granted.
I wonder if our younger entitled generation would survive in such conditions.
Having lived for more than a decade in the prairies this was somewhat of a nostalgic and moving testimony of how people once lived their entire lives struggling to survive so that their children could one day thrive.
August 2, 2023
I really enjoyed this book. It took me to a time and place I never experienced - the Canadian frontier, in a hardscrabble and ultimately doomed community of Mennonite refugees from Russia in the “dirty thirties” and beyond. It describes a difficult childhood and way of life. Yet told through a child’s eyes, it is heartbreakingly sweet and nostalgic. Wiebe is a master painter with words, weaving them into a tapestry so full, it seems you are there with him, happy to be along for the rid.
October 18, 2018
I just loved this. Although my background isn't exactly the same, I do come from Russian Mennonite roots so I learned a lot here. I think my mom in particular would have related to this as well as my older brothers. If your background is Mennonite in any way, I think you would find this most enjoyable.
November 4, 2018
The author offers memories of growing up in a small farming community that remind me of my own family history (yup, I'm a Mennonite). The most interesting is the end when his family moves to Coaldale, where I grew up, and describes the town in the early 1950s. The stories can be awkwardly long, wordy and unfinished.
July 22, 2020
Interesting read!
This is the story of a Mennonite family leaving Russia and settling in land in Canada. It is the life of a boy in this family and the struggles they had to be safe.
This is the story of a Mennonite family leaving Russia and settling in land in Canada. It is the life of a boy in this family and the struggles they had to be safe.
August 19, 2020
Wonderful memoirs of a Bygone Time
Loved this biographical book. Even if you aren't Mennonite, for those of us in our 70's and 80's it brings back memories of our own family history. It was a different time and those memories are precious. Thank you, Rudy!
Loved this biographical book. Even if you aren't Mennonite, for those of us in our 70's and 80's it brings back memories of our own family history. It was a different time and those memories are precious. Thank you, Rudy!
July 1, 2020
Very informative
Loved it! An insight into how my ancestors lived and endured in the prairies. They helped form the idea of Canada and multiculturalism.
Loved it! An insight into how my ancestors lived and endured in the prairies. They helped form the idea of Canada and multiculturalism.
July 16, 2020
I was hoping there would be more information about the Mennonite way of life.
March 31, 2022
Loved this memoir of childhood. Rudy Wiebe is an excellent word weaver.
March 29, 2025
I really identified with Rudy's background German Mennonite experiences though he was a generation earlier.
April 18, 2025
A beautifully written memoir about Wiebe's growing up in northern Saskatchewan in the 30s and 40s. Some of the prose was spectacular.
October 31, 2025
wonderfully evocative account of a life that will resonate with anyone who grew up on a hardscrabble dirt farm.
December 15, 2025
Did not finish.
March 11, 2017
This books calls one to savor childhood. Most of the book is patched together memories of his life before 10 years old. He draws on his sisters' diaries, family photos and foggy memories to paint a picture of childhood that represents childhood--simple, non-comprehensive, but filled with plenty of sensory details and narrative that the stories never get dull.
My favorite was the tri-lingual dialogues that he maintains throughout and the way that the three languages shaped his life.
My favorite was the tri-lingual dialogues that he maintains throughout and the way that the three languages shaped his life.
December 28, 2016
Fascinating history with descriptive word pictures of hard homesteading on stony ground in Saskatchewan with other Russian Mennonite families in 1930s and 40s. Because of descriptions and thoughts of sex for a growing farm boy, I cannot recommend this book for church libraries.
June 24, 2013
This is the first of Rudy Wiebe's books that I've read, but I plan to look for others. Mr. Weibe writes this book as a loving memory of his childhood in the boreal forests of Canada around the time of WWII. His parents had escaped the terrors of Stalinist Russia around the time he was born, and then eked out a living by farming.
I was entranced by his descriptions of his chldhood - the animals, the seasons, his extended family living nearby, the school he attended, and his memories of the joys of just being a boy. Like most farm communities, there are deaths, injuries, scandals, and a social life centered around church and neighbors. He describes the wonders of listening to the radio, tasting chocolate for the first time, and riding in a car, but always speaks with respect about the traditions and beliefs of his Mennonite family.
Mr. Wiebe has a wonderful way with words, taking the reader back in his memories until you feel you are there. I highly recommend this book.
I was entranced by his descriptions of his chldhood - the animals, the seasons, his extended family living nearby, the school he attended, and his memories of the joys of just being a boy. Like most farm communities, there are deaths, injuries, scandals, and a social life centered around church and neighbors. He describes the wonders of listening to the radio, tasting chocolate for the first time, and riding in a car, but always speaks with respect about the traditions and beliefs of his Mennonite family.
Mr. Wiebe has a wonderful way with words, taking the reader back in his memories until you feel you are there. I highly recommend this book.
November 18, 2021
I think I read this book quite a few years ago, so I don't remember a lot of the details. It resonates with stories of so many pioneers, immigrants & refugees. It really is a historical treasure about the stories of the Mennonites, and among those coming to Canada after WW1. One thing I don't remember ever hearing is that during the drought of the "dirty 30's" when so much of the soil was blowing away, & there was virtually no rain to grow crops or gardens, the biggest internal migration took place in Canada, with over 10,000 people relocating from southern Saskatchewan north to the boreal forest areas, even though much of that was to 'bush'. We heard about people moving laterally, mostly west to parts of Alberta & British Columbia. I read various sections of the book, sometimes skipping over parts, when I realized how long I was keeping the book. It's well worth a read, and I have always enjoyed Rudy Wiebe's writing.
May 9, 2016
Well-known Canadian author Rudy Wiebe spent his early formative years in northern Saskatchewan. If you grew up in Saskatchewan it was, like Rudy, in the boreal forest, the great plains or, like me, the prairie parkland. Rudy is the same generation as my parents and many of his rural experiences also resonant with me from the stories I heard or my own memories. Rudy, however, like many prairie folk was from a Russian Mennonite family and community and their faith and history colours his story as much as the land in which he was raised.
March 30, 2017
This is an excellent book in some ways. Rudy Wiebe has a gift of language and is considered a national treasure in Canada. I can see why, but I still found this book rather dry and sluggish. I did learn a lot about life on the farm. Sometimes Wiebe included far too much detail for good taste. I am thinking of his lurid descriptions of the mating habits of farm animals. I would almost kill to be given the chance to edit this for him. Cutting out a couple of thousand words would improve it significantly. Still, 3 Stars means I liked it and I did. But I was not wild about it.
January 4, 2009
I love this memoir because it feels like the author is always trying to be honest and open with the reader. I am currently reading A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway and while I am enjoying it some parts feel like an inside joke that few would understand (myself included). The way Rudy Wiebe describes his farmstead and the nearby forests is breathtaking and makes me want to escape the city at once. I highly recommend this memoir if you are a fan of his fiction work.
June 3, 2011
In a way this book reminded me of "My Antonia" by Willa Cather, which is one of my all time favorite books, but it wasn't quite as lyrical. I did like how the author used the German language in his remembrances of church hymns and his parent's interactions with each other, and that he then gave the translations. It is very much a memoir, a somewhat slow place, like he's enjoying all the remembering.
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June 12, 2009Poetic memoir of growing up in rural Saskatchewan and Coaldale, Alberta. Memories flow together in an evocative way- it's the flow of language and the combination of rememberings which makes more of an impression than actual events. Deeply effected by his sister's death. Reminds me of Loren Eiseley. Enjoyable.
November 9, 2015
I thoroughly enjoyed the book. My father, who is turning 94, also grew up in Saskatchewan on various homesteads and there are definite similarities, including the low German. Reading this book brought to memory many of the stories I have heard from my father over the years. Thank you for writing down your stories, Rudy Wiebe.
October 13, 2012
This was a delightful memoir. I was especially interested in reading it because my husband was also raised in a Mennonite family, and when he read this book there were lots of similarities to his own story. A very worthwhile read.
January 10, 2017
Lyrical and story-like, which is pleasant and easy to read. I enjoyed how all his stories drift into one another, so you start to lose yourself and enter the setting even more than a straight chronology ever could do.
August 9, 2013
For people of the 'Mennonite tribe', this is a fascinating book. For anyone else, it may lack interest, despite the fact that Wiebe chalked up another award with this book. In my opinion, he needs an editor.
July 4, 2008
Author writes about his childhood in Saskatchewan, with stops also in Alberta and B.C. Essential reading for Rudy Wiebe fans.
February 24, 2009
Excellent biography of a writer's childhood in northern Saskatchewan in the 30's and 40's.
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September 6, 2009Setting in No. Sask. Canada. Thot the book was disjointed. Author past his prime. His Peace Shall Destroy Many made a much better impression.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews