The Memory Keeper of Kyiv, by Erin Litteken

Stunned. I was absolutely stunned as I read "The Memory Keeper of Kyiv". History repeats itself. This isn't an easy read. Reality slaps us in the face. But, it's an important read. Even as a history major who was certainly aware that awful things happened there, seeing that knowledge translated into words and characters we quickly came to like and care about made it all the more horrifying. People going about their everyday lives, loving, living, laughing, sharing first kisses... Then it's all ripped away from them. The cruelty of war. The desperation. The randomness. The lives destroyed. Erin Litteken captures it all in this novel, using the format of a modern character discovering her grandmother's journal as a means of bringing the past to the present. As we reel today of a story of a Ukrainian man going out to simply walk his dog, something I do daily, and being shot in the head by invading forces, we see the past happening in the present. Yes, history repeats itself.

I won't attempt to detail the plot and take away any of your immediate reaction to the story. The book uses alternating viewpoints. One is of present day Cassie, a still grieving widow, and her daughter, who go to stay with Cassie's grandmother while she recovers from an accident. The other is of 16 year-old Katya (the grandmother) as she shares her first kiss and hears whispers of invasion and awful tales of events elsewhere. Cassie discovers her journal. We follow her throughout the invasion and eventual Holodomor, a time of a man-made famine when keeping a single shaft of wheat to feed a starving family could be a death sentence. Friends and loved ones simply disappear. Children are snatched from their homes, never to be seen again. People are forced to make life or death decisions every day. Katya chooses to live. This is her story, yes, but also the story of her family, past and present, Cassie looks to her future, too, with hope.

I know now why Ukrainians fight so bravely and relentlessly. They know the consequences. This book, ironically conceived of even before the 2014 invasion of Crimea, should be required reading for anyone with an interest in history and current events, not to mention in learning the truth. Katya's story, fictional as it is, must be told.

Thank you #NetGalley and #BoldwoodBooks for allowing me the opportunity to read #TheMemoryKeepersOfKyiv.

 

From GoodReads: "Erin Litteken is a debut novelist with a degree in history and a passion for research. At a young age, she was enthralled by stories of her family’s harrowing experiences in Ukraine before, during and after World War II. She lives in Illinois, USA with her husband and children."