We Should Not Be Afraid of the Sky
Updated: 21 hours ago
Emma Hooper
We Should Not Be Afraid of the Sky, by Alberta-born U.K.-based Emma Hooper, is also a historical novel, but one that explores an entirely different era. Set in the golden age of the Roman empire, this novel was inspired by the story of second-century Christian saint Quiteria, about whom very little is known. Based on Portuguese legend, Quiteria was one of the nonuplet sisters, whose mother ordered them to be drowned because she was worried her husband would see the birth of nine daughters as a sign of infidelity. Instead of obeying this order, her servant Sila gave the girls to local women who raised them as Christians; five survive.
Hooper’s novel explores the lives and continued connection of these five sisters, who end up being raised by different families. This connection ends when they are abducted by soldiers from their small Portuguese village and brought to the commander—who forces them to lay out the stories of their pasts, identifying their less-than-ordinary lives and putting them in graver danger during a time of brutal conflict. This story is told from the varying perspectives of the five sisters, offering multiple points of view.
To learn more about We Should Not Be Afraid of the Sky and Emma Hooper, please visit: https://www.emmahooper.ca/.
