Sweeter Than all the World

by Rudy Wiebe

Rudy Wiebe’s latest novel is at once an enthralling saga of the Mennonite people and one man’s emotional voyage into his heritage and his own self-discovery. Ambitious in its historical sweep, tender and humane, Sweeter Than All the World takes us on an extraordinary odyssey never before fully related in a contemporary novel.The novel tells the story of the Mennonite people from the early days of persecution in sixteenth-century Netherlands, and follows their emigration to Danzig, London, Russia, and the Americas, through the horrors of World War II, to settlement in Paraguay and Canada. It is told episodically in a double-stranded narrative. The first strand consists of different voices of historical figures. The other narrative voice is that of Adam Wiebe, born in Saskatchewan in 1935, whom we encounter at telling stages of his as a small boy playing in the bush, as a student hunting caribou a week before his wedding, and as a middle-aged man carefully negotiating a temporary separation from his wife. As Adam faces the collapse of his marriage and the disappearance of his daughter, he becomes obsessed with understanding his ancestral past. Wiebe meshes the history of a people with the story of a modern family, laying bare the complexities of desire and family love, religious faith and human frailty.The past comes brilliantly alive, beginning with the horrors of the Reformation, when Weynken Claes Wybe is burned at the stake for heretical views on Communion. We are caught up in the great events of each century, as we follow in the footsteps of Adam’s the genius engineer who invented the cable-car system; the artist Enoch Seeman, who found acclamation at the royal court in London after having been forbidden to paint by the Elders; Anna, who endures the great wagon trek across the Volga in 1860, leaving behind her hopes of marriage so that her brothers will escape conscription in the Prussian army; and Elizabeth Katerina, caught in the Red Army’s advance into Germany when rape and pillage are the rewards given to soldiers. The title of the novel, taken from a hymn, reflects the beauty and sorrow of these stories of courage. In a startling act of invention, Sweeter Than All the World sets one man’s quest for family and love against centuries of turmoil.Rudy Wiebe first wrote of Mennonite resettlement in his 1970 epic novel The Blue Mountains of China . Since then, much of his work has focused on re-imagining the history of the Canadian Northwest. In Sweeter Than All the World , as in many of his most acclaimed novels, Wiebe has sought out real historical characters to tell an extraordinary story. William Keith, a University of Toronto professor and author of a book about Wiebe, “Wiebe has a knack for divining wells of human feeling in historical sources.” Here, all the main characters share his name, and the history is one to which he belongs. Moreover, alongside those flashbacks into history is revealed an utterly compelling contemporary story of a man whose background is not totally unlike the author’s own. Wiebe sets his narrative against his two favourite the northern Alberta landscape, and the shared memories of the Mennonite people. Sweeter Than All the World is a compassionate, erudite and stimulating work of fiction that shares the deep-rooted concerns of all of Wiebe’s how to make history live in our imagination, and how we can best live our lives.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Religion

438 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Wiebe 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.

Reviews

[Jonathan Hiskes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wiebe tells a sprawling story of a Mennonite family over 400 years, moving from Holland to Danzig to Germany to Russia to Paraguay and Canada. Interspersed with historical chapters is the story of Adam Wiebe, a wealthy Canadian doctor trying to stitch together his family's past. It's a leisurely paced novel, but if you're looking to learn about the history of this people pushed around the globe by war and persecution, it's a fine place to start. Makes a case that fiction is as good a means as any for teaching history.

[Marg · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the third book of Wiebe's I've read - I keep trying to figure out why he wins awards but so far cannot. I find his work disjointed, rambling and overall confusing. While this was the best of his books I have read yet, that's not saying much. There were far too many characters to keep track of - a family tree would have been very useful.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rudy Wiebe, a very talented Canadian Writer uses this novel to explore the nature of religion and personality. A 'lapsed' Mennonite comes to terms with his ancestors and their relationship to the land, community and the world at large.

[Gail Amendt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a re-read for me. I first read it when it was newly published, and I was just beginning to explore my Mennonite heritage. This is an amazing exploration of the travels and travails of a persecuted people. It helped me understand where my family came from, and why the Mennonites have seemed to wander the planet for almost 500 years. The story is told in two narrative threads. The first is the story of Adam Wiebe, a lapsed Mennonite with family and marital struggles, who becomes obsessed with his family history. Intertwined with his story are historical vignettes of his ancestors, illustrating the journey of the Mennonite people as they have migrated from place to place seeking the freedom to practice what they believe. Although the main character appears to be mostly fictional, the fact that he shares a last name and family background with the author leads me to believe this a partly autobiographical novel, illustrating the author's own exploration of his family history. There is a great deal of history in this book, and not just about the Mennonites. There are a lot of little historical asides, where the author makes reference to interesting snippets of history from all around the globe, and many of these led me to fascinating Google searches while I was reading.

So, why only four stars? The writing style is complicated and rambling, which I feel makes this book inaccessible for a lot of readers. It is difficult to follow. The narrative wanders all over with the thoughts of the narrators, almost in a stream of consciousness style. The author is an English professor, and I feel that he tried too hard to make this novel stylistically unique, and in doing so made it beyond the level of many readers who might want to know about Mennonite history, but might not be able to follow the rambling style of this otherwise excellent book. Don't get me wrong, this is one of my favorite books because of the historical content, and I will probably read it again, but it is a lot of work to read, and I would rather get my Mennonite history in a slightly easier format.

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

As one of the reviewers commented, this was Rudy Wiebe's "epic novel".

Wiebe does a pretty magnificent job of researching the earliest Mennonite ancestors of the Wiebe-Loewen family in the book from the progenitor, Adam Wiebe, in Danzig of 16th/17th Centuries down to the present-day family members. I am not sure if the genealogy is a compilation of various Mennonite ancestors from Prussia, or if is actually Rudy Wiebe's ancestry, with imagined lives and histories.

The author juxtaposes the histories and his genealogical chapters with a story of a man who was born in Canada to Mennonite parents who escaped from Russia between WWI and WWII. He is the youngest in the family, and as the Canadian-born, is not seen to have suffered, but to have had all the advantages of a good education and career as a doctor in a country where there were no fears of the villification, arrest, torture, imprisonment and death by the agents of Stalin, as in his parents' case, and farther back, by religionists who despised the Anabaptists for their audacity to go up against the elitist status quo.

Adam Wiebe, the protagonist in the modern-day story, is obsessed with understanding the psyche of the people who came before. He appears to have lost his own belief in God, much to his mother's angst and is wracked with the kind of guilt that often accompanies those who don't seem able to catch the spiritual passion of their parents and also are not able to redeem the tough past lives of their beloved elders.

Adam's marriage breaks down, he separates, and his adult children are hurt and bitter. His much-loved daughter, who had come with him on his genealogical and other travels when his wife no longer did, disappeared. The latter part of the book deals with that.

There is so much in this book-- it truly is "epic". Because I have a quasi-Mennonite background, I learned a great deal about the 'culture' and the embedded religious beliefs.

[Bernie Wiebe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually read this book twice, consecutively. I love it! Firstly, I am a Wiebe from Russian Mennonite stock so a novel that deals with the historic Adam Wiebe, known as the earliest Wiebe, that Adam who had a huge engineering impact on the city of Danzig and who is “the father of all” means this was a narrative of great interest to me in terms of the general facts of his life, and the imagined sweep of his life there, complete with details. And the learning about the city and its development particularly as it pertains to him, and Mennonite life was so intriguing, as are the subsequent bits of the Mennonite story which he treats in episodic fashion dealing one by one with key stories of folks by the name of Wiebe, some interrelated, some not. The dual track relating, on the one hand to the contemporary Adam Wiebe born of immigrant parents in rural Alberta, and the interspersed historical stories, usually consisting of a substantial chapter, was not a problem to me, although as mentioned I did read the book twice, and in this way the whole thing came together better for me. Having grown up in a family of Russian Mennonite immigrants to Canada myself, and knowing that culture, the many references, religious and cultural, regarding everything from the low German language, to the ethnic food, to theology resonated with me and gave the whole thing more of a familiar , even folksy flavor. I would have to say that although this is historical fiction, my reading of this novel and digesting it’s well researched detail, significantly augments my understanding of the arc of the Russian Mennonite story. I understand it may well not be as much interest to people unfamiliar with or unrelated to that story.

I’m grateful to have discovered this one, I’m going to keep it in my library, and will be certain to revisit it.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

The blurb describes the parallel, connected storylines (modern vs. Mennonite diaspora history). Interesting work, enjoyable and informative. It is a bit hard to follow some of the family lines in the second half, as Wiebe coyly notes at one point, saying a family tree might come in handy.
I found my copy in a book exchange at work, a withdrawn Library volume. They don't seem to want it back for their annual book sale, so it goes to a Starbucks book exchange to keep going.

[Virginia Carraway-Stark · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent book with well researched historical detail and an empathy for the time and space his characters inhabited. This book is written for university level readers and many people seem to be unable to follow the complexities of Wiebe's writings. I was surprised when I read the reviews that people found it hard to follow and 'disjointed' when I read the other reviews. I found it an enrapturing take on the past and found myself unable to put down this book!

[Gerald Mast · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read this book three times and each time it is more rewarding. I know of no book that captures so well the experience of genealogical identity and belonging--how one can feel attached to many generations and cousins in body and spirit, how one can be part of a big and unending family story, how the story can curse and save.

[Dana Friesen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a difficult read in parts, but satisfying in other parts. A slightly less rambling approach might've made Mennonite history more fascinating and accessible to more readers. But overall, I enjoyed the process of following the main character, as well as his various ancestors, through the book. And now that I'm finished, I find myself wanting to revisit the places and people in the early chapters whose importance becomes clearer at the end of the book. Eg. circling back to his boyhood in chapter one means so much more to me now, having known how much his boyhood meant to him later on. I will be reading this again.

[Erika · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is so much in this book. As a Mennonite whose parents immigrated to Canada from Russia, this book adds so much to my understanding of what went on for my ancestors, going back several centuries. It jumps back and forth in time from chapter to chapter, and would be worth a second read in order to get more clarity on the connections.

[Tom Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book that is profoundly optimistic. It is an novel based on the 400 year history of a Mennonite family. However it is more than that. This family extends to the human experience. It is a novel which shows a continual struggle for creation among forces of destruction. It is a novel of how people try to build their lives for themselves and their children among the forces of war and destruction. it is a novel of memory and how people and peoples keep their personal and collective memories alive in the face of political and religious forces that try to obliterate and replace them.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adam’s parents escaped from Russia to Canada after World War I. He was born on their farm in Coaldale, Alberta. Throughout his childhood, he heard the stories about their family and their Mennonite heritage. Adam became a medical doctor but he was plagued with the trials and suffering his Mennonite ancestors experienced. The chapters alternate between Adam’s life and a chronological history of the religious persecution against the Mennonites throughout the centuries. Some of their experiences during World War II were horrifying. Adam eventually leaves his practice, travelling the world and searching for his family’s past. He seems to be trying to assuage his guilt for his ancestors’ suffering. Aside from the historical aspect of the book, a mention of the Yaghan people of Tierra del Fuego prompted me to do a bit of online research. The information I found about these people was very interesting even if it was off-topic.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

The novel tells the story of the Mennonite people from the early days of persecution in sixteenth-century Netherlands, and follows their emigration to Danzig, London, Russia, and the Americas, through the horrors of World War II, to settlement in Paraguay and Canada. Story was disjointed and uneven, trying to follow a contemporary strand and an historical strand. Wiebe has received acclaim and recognition for his writing, but I find his prose difficult to follow.

[Amanda Gordon · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book jumps back and forth between the author's life and scenes in the life of his Mennonite ancestors. The stories of his ancestors were so interesting. I loved learning about the history of the Mennonites. Unfortunately I hated hearing about the authors life after a while - full of profanity, adultery etc. so it took me months to get through this book and as a result I can't really recommend it.

[Linda Fast · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a Mennonite I enjoyed reading the historical parts of the novel. However I felt that the book jumped around and it was hard to keep track of the characters. I will definitely reread this book as I am sure that I missed some of the underlying connections to the author. If you are a Mennonite I recommend this book for its history. If you are not a Mennonite don't bother as I doubt that you would enjoy it.

[Sherri]

Inspired to read this book again after conversations with Tom Neufeldt, the Russian Mennonite farmer at the St.Catharines market. One of Rudy's best books, I think, and the result of a huge amount of research. And I agree with Tom that when the mennonites scattered, my ancestors headed in a forturitous direction. Thank you, Mr. Penn.

[Becci · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was enjoying the first part of the book, interspersing a 20th century man with his ancestos' past, but the book spiralled out of control in terms of continents and charcters!,,There were so many Wiebes and Loewens families and it became quite confusing to keep them straight. I do like his descriptive syle, though.

[Liz Jansen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was eager to read this novel to better understand Mennonite history and culture. Interesting history but I couldn't keep track of whose voice was talking, how they were connected, or where it was in time and place. Very confusing.