Under One Sky
Reviewed By Janet Mawdesley March 30, 2025
Author Zoe Folbigg
Distributor: Amazon UK
ISBN: 9781836787662
Publisher: Boldwood Press
Release Date: March 2025
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Cecile is a dreamer. She lives in a world that is familiar, a world she has always lived in, a town she was born in and is comfortable in her world. She is a librarian, plays the harp and works part time in a quirky little café. She is lonely but she is not sure what she is seeking.
Hector lives in Mexico and is a mixture of a past he is running away from, a present he is being forced into, and a lifestyle which is uncomfortable, dangerous and destructive.
They meet on line and what begins as fun, slowly becomes a deeper relationship that develops into love, which they both are comfortable with, as they live far, far away from each other, making meeting almost impossible. Cecile lives in Tromso, Norway and Hector lives in Xalapa, Mexico.
When Hector tells Cecile he is about to be married, she is devastated, destroyed and inconsolable. Hector is struggling with being pressured into marrying Pilar, a young Spanish teacher who came to Xalapa and who has been in his life for some time. He is depressed but has no honourable way out of the mess he has helped create.
Zoe Folbigg captures the very essence of love at a distance in Under One Sky, where she carefully looks at what is considered as love; is it something that can develop even though two people have never met, is it something that can create change, that can destroy and build up, that can be felt deeply.
Played out as on-line chat the style of presentation allows the reader to get to know the protagonists, their cultures and their emotions intimately, creating a more modern dimension to a global romance.
The slow build up to the finale has been well constructed as Folbigg draws together several strings which, during the course of the story seem to mean little, but bind together to create an unforgettable ending based on a massive leap of faith and the knowledge that love really is the ultimate emotion.
Please note this novel was originally published with the title The Distance.