The Memory Keeper of Kyiv
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-03-30 00:19:53
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Erin Litteken
- ISBN：B09V2BDWVV
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Barb
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The best historical fiction books educate the reader on historical events by immersing the reader in a well researched story with characters that we find ourselves caring about。 That this book is being published as Ukraine is facing horrific violence and human tragedy at the hands of the Russian government again， makes this a must read novel。 Starting in 1930， the Holodomor caused the death of almost 4 million Ukraines due to Stalin's orders for collectivization of farming and the rationing of f The best historical fiction books educate the reader on historical events by immersing the reader in a well researched story with characters that we find ourselves caring about。 That this book is being published as Ukraine is facing horrific violence and human tragedy at the hands of the Russian government again， makes this a must read novel。 Starting in 1930， the Holodomor caused the death of almost 4 million Ukraines due to Stalin's orders for collectivization of farming and the rationing of food supplies。Erin Litteken timely debut novel "The Memory Keeper of Kyiv" does just that by telling， in dual time frames， the story of 16 year old Katya and her survival of the Great Famine starting in 1930 and her granddaughter， Cassie， gradually learning her "Bobby's" history she had kept hidden。 I read this novel in one day because Katya's story is an example of indomitable spirit， courage and love in the face of unimaginable horror。 Cassie's story's weaker but was a relief as she has also known loss that is put in perspective as she learns the hidden history of her grandmother。 A compelling story that kept my attention （and caused some tears） right until the end。 The authors notes are enlightening and well worth reading。 That the famine was dismissed as anti-Soviet propaganda until the declassification and publication of historical documents in the late 1980's is unbelievable。 I want to thank NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review of this book coming in May 2022。 。。。more
Laurie
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This is an emotional historical fiction novel that is now sadly， once more relevant today。 Told in dual timelines， this story tells of the suffering， death and absolute devastation in the 1930's when Stalin and his followers created famine for the people of Ukraine。 He ordered them to join his collective farming， taking all foods and livestock with scant returns。Mother's， father's， the elderly，children，infants died from starvation。Present day-Cassie learns of her grandmother's past through her j This is an emotional historical fiction novel that is now sadly， once more relevant today。 Told in dual timelines， this story tells of the suffering， death and absolute devastation in the 1930's when Stalin and his followers created famine for the people of Ukraine。 He ordered them to join his collective farming， taking all foods and livestock with scant returns。Mother's， father's， the elderly，children，infants died from starvation。Present day-Cassie learns of her grandmother's past through her journal。 This helps Cassie and her family to understand why "Bobby" is exhibiting bizarre behavior such as hiding foods， and wandering。 Some how she survived this awful time。 The memories however， are still always present。This is a detailed， well written novel。 There were times that it was not easy to read。 However， it is well told， and I can only imagine what is occurring today in Ukraine as well as what was， back in the 1930's with Stalin's war。This quote "Just make it through today and hope that tomorrow will be better" seems to be the new prayer。I believe we should all read this story to gain some understanding of life in Ukraine through the years。Thank you to #Boldwood Books andNetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC and provide my review。 。。。more
Paulette Kennedy
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Emotionally riveting and honest， The Memory Keeper of Kyiv is both timely and timeless—a brave and important book that simultaneously shines an unflinching light on historical atrocities while it celebrates the resilience of the human spirit。 Litteken seamlessly intertwines the past with the present as she follows a Ukrainian family’s heart-wrenching journey through genocidal famine and grievous loss while elevating their bravery， strength， and selfless love。 You won’t soon forget this stunning Emotionally riveting and honest， The Memory Keeper of Kyiv is both timely and timeless—a brave and important book that simultaneously shines an unflinching light on historical atrocities while it celebrates the resilience of the human spirit。 Litteken seamlessly intertwines the past with the present as she follows a Ukrainian family’s heart-wrenching journey through genocidal famine and grievous loss while elevating their bravery， strength， and selfless love。 You won’t soon forget this stunning debut。 。。。more
Sarah
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I am embarrassed I had only learned of the Holodomor a few weeks before reading this book。 However， I don’t think I am alone in my ignorance。 This book personalizes the suffering of Ukrainians at the hands of Stalin while also demonstrating the love of homeland and will to survive that the world is still witnessing in present day Ukraine。 Katya is a heroine not by saving the world but by having the will to not only survive but to cling to the preciousness and beauty of life in a way that allows I am embarrassed I had only learned of the Holodomor a few weeks before reading this book。 However， I don’t think I am alone in my ignorance。 This book personalizes the suffering of Ukrainians at the hands of Stalin while also demonstrating the love of homeland and will to survive that the world is still witnessing in present day Ukraine。 Katya is a heroine not by saving the world but by having the will to not only survive but to cling to the preciousness and beauty of life in a way that allows her to create a future filled with love。 While this is a story of profound loss and suffering it is also one of strength。 I could not recommend this book enough， it’s a must read！Note: I read an ARC of this book for review。 。。。more
Marsha
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Putin's current war is not the first time a dictator from Moscow attempted and failed to annihilate the Ukrainian culture and nation， and knowing what Stalin did in the 1930s informs Putin's actions now。 Kudos to Litteken for tackling this complex topic for a general romance audience。 For many of her readers， this novel will be their introduction to the Holodomor， when Stalin intentionally starved to death millions of Ukrainians， then repopulated the emptied villages with Russians and Belarussia Putin's current war is not the first time a dictator from Moscow attempted and failed to annihilate the Ukrainian culture and nation， and knowing what Stalin did in the 1930s informs Putin's actions now。 Kudos to Litteken for tackling this complex topic for a general romance audience。 For many of her readers， this novel will be their introduction to the Holodomor， when Stalin intentionally starved to death millions of Ukrainians， then repopulated the emptied villages with Russians and Belarussians。Told in dual contemporary/historical romance threads， the sugar-coating on the tragedy will make it slightly easier for some readers to swallow。 I would have liked to see the story come alive through the characters' action rather than to have them talk about it， but this is an ambitious topic for a novice author who will only get better in subsequent books。This novel will appeal to readers who want to know about the Holodomor， but who like their history wrapped in romance。 。。。more
Dwina Willis
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Erin Litteken uses her great-grandparents story as the impetus for The Memory Keeper of Kyiv。 It is the story of two families who lived in a small village outside Kyiv during the 1930s during the Holodomor （man made famine orchestrated by Stalin）。 It is serendipitous that this book is being released May 16， at a time when the Ukraine is again under attack from Russia。 This is dual timeline story。 Cassie's husband died in an horrific car accident。 Her daughter has not spoken since the accident。 C Erin Litteken uses her great-grandparents story as the impetus for The Memory Keeper of Kyiv。 It is the story of two families who lived in a small village outside Kyiv during the 1930s during the Holodomor （man made famine orchestrated by Stalin）。 It is serendipitous that this book is being released May 16， at a time when the Ukraine is again under attack from Russia。 This is dual timeline story。 Cassie's husband died in an horrific car accident。 Her daughter has not spoken since the accident。 Cassie cannot seem to find a way out of her grief。 Her grandmother， "Bobby，" is showing symptoms of dementia and needs help。 Cassie's mother suggests that Cassie and her daughter move in with Bobby to help。 The move is good for everyone。 Bobby wants to share her family's story， but can only do that from a journal written in Ukrainian。 Their neighbor Nick learned the Ukrainian language at the insistence of his grandmother， so he helps translate。 The journal tells the horror of the Holodomor， but it also emphasizes to look to the future。This is a story of bravery and extreme trial， It is also a story of love， survival， and joy after sorrow。 I was reminded of a passage from Isaiah 6:3 "。。。。and provide for those who grieve in Zion to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes the oil of joy instead of mourning， and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair。" I was able to read this book on #NetGalley。 。。。more
Ann-Marie
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This is a dual-narrative， dual time book written from 1930’s Ukraine by Katya and 2004 Illinois by Cassie。 It is first and foremost a story of love and loss in both time frames。 Like so many books have been written using WW2 as the setting， this book uniquely uses an event I was only vaguely aware of until now， the Holodomor （forced famine） so I was both educated and kept enthralled by this story。 The Katya parts are super emotional which meant I unfortunately found myself speed reading through This is a dual-narrative， dual time book written from 1930’s Ukraine by Katya and 2004 Illinois by Cassie。 It is first and foremost a story of love and loss in both time frames。 Like so many books have been written using WW2 as the setting， this book uniquely uses an event I was only vaguely aware of until now， the Holodomor （forced famine） so I was both educated and kept enthralled by this story。 The Katya parts are super emotional which meant I unfortunately found myself speed reading through the Cassie parts in order to find out what happened next to Katya and her Ukrainian family。 I know it is a work of fiction but I keep thinking back to what poor Katya and her family went through so to become aware that it is a real event and the author used stories of what would genuinely have happened and wove them into her story is just heartrending and sobering， especially given what today’s Ukrainian people are having to suffer too。 Although I was given a free ARC kindle copy via Netgalley I will be donating the RRP of the hardcopy to a Ukraine help-fund。 。。。more
Caroline Palmer
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A sad and hopeful telling of one of the most horrific man-made famines in history。 This is a story that should be told， as every bit as horrific as the Holocaust that came after it and is especially relevant with the trouble in Ukraine that Russia is causing now。
Cindy Gallery
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A powerful book that reminds us to not let history repeat itself。I loved it
Marquise
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 The timing of this novel couldn't be more unfortunate yet appropriate at the same time。 Unfortunate because it shows， once again， that history repeats in rough patterns; and appropriate because as I've said before， to understand what's at stake for Ukraine in her current war with Russia， you have to go eight decades back to the Holodomor， and although this is fictional， it does help with that， and hopefully will entice readers to consult non-fiction books on the famine， such as Anne Applebaum's The timing of this novel couldn't be more unfortunate yet appropriate at the same time。 Unfortunate because it shows， once again， that history repeats in rough patterns; and appropriate because as I've said before， to understand what's at stake for Ukraine in her current war with Russia， you have to go eight decades back to the Holodomor， and although this is fictional， it does help with that， and hopefully will entice readers to consult non-fiction books on the famine， such as Anne Applebaum's Red Famine， which author Erin Litteken also recommends in the afterword。This is the story of Katya Shevchenko， an Ukrainian peasant girl full of vitality and dreams for the future， whose dreams are crushed when Stalin decided to collectivise the whole of the farmland in the country by force， arresting， deporting， executing， and maliciously starving all that oppose it。 Katya's family has a modest but prosperous farm that produces enough for them to live without major worries， until they're slowly deprived of it by abusive grain quotas， extremely high taxes， the arrest of their father and other family members， and murders all around of friends and neighbours， and finally having the farm collectivised。 Katya， her mother， her sister， her husband and her brother-in-law are then forced to survive by eating anything they can forage or catch， even rats， worms， and crows， suffering horribly for years until there's only Katya and Kolya left， who somehow manage to escape once WWII breaks out and eventually reach America。 Once there， in her last months of life she tells her story to her granddaughter so it's not lost to time。Personally， I don't like dual-timeline narration; one timeline always drags the other timeline down and it's usually the story set in the past that suffers。 It's no different here: if you read only the chapters with Katya's POV in Ukraine， the story is great， touchingly told， and very harrowing because the suffering is immense and unbearable。 But the parallel present-day story of Cassie， her granddaughter is a drag。 Cassie isn't interesting as a character， and she can be rather stupid at times; she never puts two and two together that the Holodomor was probably what her grandma experienced that she doesn't want to talk about， and even more incredibly， she doesn't even realise Kolya is her grandpa and has to have it mansplained by her new lover。 She's the complete opposite of Katya， and although I do get she's in mourning， her pity party can get on your nerves， especially compared to Katya's experiences that are far worse but devoid of self-pity。 A drag， she is。Ideally， I think there should've been only the Holodomor storyline， which is what's going to sell this book and what the title advertises。 If you try the exercise of reading only Katya's POVs and skip Cassie's， and you'll see my point。 But the Holodomor storyline would also have benefited from being more elaborated on， because， frankly， it's too contained。 For the most part， it reads like the whole of Ukraine is the Shevchenkos' farm， and for many chapters the story happens within the four walls of Katya & Kolya's house。 You never get a sense of the time and place and events like that。 There's a peasant rebellion in which one of the main characters fight， but we never see or hear of it。 We don't see much if anything of the collective farm， and even less of things around the oblast。 There are no characters outside Katya's circle， and they all come and go as the plot demands like extras in a film。 We don't really see the man-made famine unfolding either， it's all told to us， sometimes infodumped; some passages read like they were directly taken from Applebaum's book， I'd say， as that book is still fresh in my memory。 And so on。 It's a very narrow glimpse into Ukraine， you barely see the typical sunflowers and a slice of blue sky， and at times Katya speaks like a Midwesterner than a girl from the Ukrainian countryside。 So， what I'm saying is that there's not much authenticity conveyed。 I'm not even sure of why exactly it's entitled "The Memory Keeper of Kyiv，" because Katya is not in Kyiv at all， her village is in another oblast。 Probably a publicity trick to take advantage of Ukraine being in the news right now？Whatever the case， I think it's a good effort to increase awareness of the tragedy that was the Ukrainian famine， and I liked the story of Katya。 I don't recall seeing any other novels with this topic， and for that alone， it's a very important book that should be read now。I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
theliterateleprechaun
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“It’s the same story every time， for centuries。 Everyone wants Ukraine’s fertile soil for their own， and nobody wants to let Ukrainians rule it。 “A debut author with plenty of promise writes to educate us on the past oppression of the Ukraine people as it coincides with recent parallel tragedy。 She reminds us that throughout the centuries there’ve been many authoritarian leaders trying to eradicate Ukraine and its people， most famously， Stalin and now， Putin。 The desire has always been to stamp “It’s the same story every time， for centuries。 Everyone wants Ukraine’s fertile soil for their own， and nobody wants to let Ukrainians rule it。 “A debut author with plenty of promise writes to educate us on the past oppression of the Ukraine people as it coincides with recent parallel tragedy。 She reminds us that throughout the centuries there’ve been many authoritarian leaders trying to eradicate Ukraine and its people， most famously， Stalin and now， Putin。 The desire has always been to stamp out Ukrainians and take their land。 Litteken， a granddaughter of a WW2 Ukrainian refugee， wants readers to learn from history…。as it’s repeating itself in real-time。 While not as taut nor as refined as an established writer， Litteken， nevertheless， capably exposes Stalin’s plan to convince Ukrainians that they can have a better life and much more prosperous farms if they pool their resources and work together， class-free。 Her dual timeline is set in the fictional village of Sonayshnyky， Ukraine in 1929 and in Wisconsin， USA in 2004。 “Ukraine is fertile and plentiful， and Stalin thinks we should be the breadbasket of the Soviet Union。 To achieve that， he wants us to give up our land and join collective farms。 This has been going on in villages all across Ukraine for months， and they could arrive here at any time。”Litteken explores the citizens’ response and readers are aware of the pervading fear as people start disappearing in the middle of the night and rumours circulate about neighbours being deported。 The fear escalates when people don’t know who to trust and they start turning on each other。 As we start to understand a little of the history of this country， the author reveals Stalin’s increasing control using anything he can to crush them and take away their spirit。 Readers will learn about the power of the Twenty-Five Thousanders， the elimination of kulaks， OGPU henchmen， and The Law of Five Stalks of Grain。 Most well examined is the horror of Holodomor - a man-made famine that would result in nearly 28，000 Ukrainians dying each day。 As I read， my outrage increased at what bullies and their anti-Ukrainian policies achieved。 If you are as unfamiliar with any of the above as I was， you need to read to become better informed。The resilience that we are seeing nowadays has been bred into these strong， united people and sentiments such as the one below show what they were and still are willing to do for their beloved land。 I was shocked at the steps taken by Ukrainians and silently cheered them on as I read。 Many citizens were united in their belief that it was more dangerous to sit back and do nothing while Stalin’s forces took everything from them。 We see that today。 “Maybe we can’t stop them， but we can ruin what they want before they take it。”The common threads of love， hope， resilience and loss are woven through both timelines to produce a reimagined story and an informative read about actual events in history the Russian government denies。 I was gifted this advance copy by Erin Litteken， Boldwood Books and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review。 。。。more
Lauren
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Note: I received an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley
Amanda McCrina
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My blurb:"Breathtaking。 Devastating。 Erin Litteken's The Memory Keeper of Kyiv chronicles a defining but forgotten moment of Ukrainian history through the shared joys and griefs， lives and deaths of one indomitable family。 This would be an important book at any time but is an absolutely vital one now。" My blurb:"Breathtaking。 Devastating。 Erin Litteken's The Memory Keeper of Kyiv chronicles a defining but forgotten moment of Ukrainian history through the shared joys and griefs， lives and deaths of one indomitable family。 This would be an important book at any time but is an absolutely vital one now。" 。。。more
Erin Litteken
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