The Fourth Archangel

Noreen Mitchell is a librarian with the Toronto Public Library.

This is the third volume in a series of loosely connected novels that
examine aspects of life in Saskatchewan. Whereas Gates of the Sun
depicted the hardships faced by pioneering homesteaders and Luna
examined the roles and relationships of country women, this novel
concerns the plight of the town of Ordeal and its inhabitants. Beset by
financial problems owing to poor weather conditions, overfarming, and
excessive reliance on credit, the farmers are being forced to sell off
their land and move away. At the same time, various characters are
afflicted by strange apparitions, disturbing dreams, and spiritual
visitations.

Butala evokes with clarity and passion the despair of a farming couple
on the brink of bankruptcy. Numerous other subplots and characters serve
as vignettes of a rural community in turmoil. With its episodic and
fragmentary structure, the novel does not make for smooth or easy
reading, and the tone is a little ponderous at times. Nevertheless,
heartfelt characterization of Prairie life is a compelling reason to
consider this last work in Butala’s trilogy.