When Stalin's collective invades her village, 16 year old Katya and her family must make a choice. Those who do not join the collective disappear in the middle of the night. Those who join the collective are forced to give their land, food, and possessions to the collective. Either choice means death. In the modern day, Cassie, Katya's granddaughter finds her writings and journal. Slowly, she begins to learn her Katya's story and the history of Ukraine.

While Katya's story was absolutely fascinating, Cassie's story was boring and predictable. I wish the author had written solely about Katya and left the modern day story out. I knew almost nothing about the famine in Ukraine and found the historic aspects heartbreaking. I wish more authors would write about these difficult and overlooked events. Overall, 4 out of 5 stars. ( )

The Memory Keeper of Kyiv was a wonderful and heartbreaking story! The way the author blended the memories from her family, facts and some fiction together was wonderful and makes for a powerful read! It has a dual timeline but it moves smoothly between them. It was hard at times to read about some of the events but I also enjoyed the love between the characters and their determination. This was a wonderfully written and heartbreaking historical fiction novel that will truly be with you long after the last page!

Thank you Rachel's Random Resources and Erin Litteken for sharing this beautiful story with me!
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I recently read Red Famine: Stalin’s War on Ukraine by Anna Applebaum (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2022/03/review-of-red-famine-stalins-war-on.html), a book which Erin Litteken recommends in her Author’s Note at the end of The Memory Keeper of Kyiv. As I read Litteken’s novel, I felt like she had taken note of all the tragedies Ukrainians experienced during the famine (as described by Applebaum) and had all these tragedies happen to the novel’s Shevchenko family or people close to them.

The novel has two storylines which are narrated in alternating chapters. In September 1929 in Ukraine, 16-year-old Katya is living happily with her family (Tato, Mama and sister Alina) and falling in love with Pavlo, a neighbour. Then Stalin’s activists arrive to persuade villagers of the advantages of collectivization. From then until July 1934, various of Katya’s relatives are arrested and deported or executed or starved. In 2004 Illinois, 31-year-old Cassie is grieving the death of her husband. Anna, Cassie’s mother, convinces Cassie and her 5-year-old daughter Birdie to move in with Bobby, Cassie’s 92-year-old grandmother, to help care for her. Bobby gives Cassie a journal she kept when she was a young girl; because it is written in Ukrainian, Cassie enlists the help of Nick Koval, a handsome neighbour, to translate it with her. Cassie learns about her grandmother’s experiences during the Holodomor.

Katya’s sections are compelling. They are not an easy read because people suffered in unimaginable ways. If I had not read the non-fiction book Red Famine, I might have thought that some of the events described in the novel are exaggerated and unbelievable.

Cassie’s chapters are much less engrossing. She is in mourning, but compared to Katya and what she endures, Cassie seems so whiny and full of self-pity. Her story has so many characteristics of a Hallmark movie: a dead spouse, a single mom, a perfectly behaving child, and a handsome, single neighbour. Cassie’s chapters do provide a break from Katya’s heart-breaking story, but after a while, I just became impatient.

Part of the problem is that Cassie is irritating because she is so clueless. She studied history in university and mentions trying “for years to interview Bobby for different research papers”; however, when her grandmother didn’t co-operate, she never bothered to research life in Ukraine during the time her grandmother would have lived there? Cassie doesn’t know that Katya is Bobby?! Cassie never heard the Christian name of her grandfather? (And Anna didn’t know her father’s Christian name?!) When Cassie is given Bobby’s journal, she doesn’t seem so anxious to learn what is in it.

There are a number of issues that bothered me. Cassie’s narrative really slows down the novel’s pace. Then, because readers learn Katya’s story before Cassie does, there is needless repetition when she catches up. The present timeline is very predictable; from the moment Nick is introduced, the narrative arc is obvious. Another problem is that secondary characters appear and then disappear; they’re used only to advance the plot and are then dismissed. Olha’s wedding opens Katya’s story, but her fate is never mentioned. Vasyl appears, disappears, and then reappears at a convenient time. Prokyp is another such plot device. Is the sentimental Epilogue really needed? Finally, how many naps do Birdie and Bobby take? To remove them from events, the author has then constantly taking naps.

The theme is clearly stated: “’people can move on from loss. You can still have a life, even when you think there’s nothing left, because there is always something to live for.’” This is the lesson Bobby learned and the lesson she tries to teach her granddaughter.
Despite its literary weaknesses, this is an important novel because it shows the horrors of the Holodomor in a more emotionally compelling way than non-fiction might. It also provides a perspective on the relationship between Russia and Ukraine, and may give one reason why Ukrainians are fighting so bravely and so determinedly against the Russian invasion.

Note: I received a digital galley from the publisher via NetGalley. ( )

An amazing debut shattering you to the core of your heart...........

The Memory Keeper of Kyiv by Erin Litteken is one of the books which is definitely going to leave its memories in your head. One of the amazing war fictions I have ever read. The book, beautifully portrays the toils and tortures endured by people of Ukraine during war. Also, the author weaves a small romantic story amidst all this. Wonderful and strong characters make the book more emotional and interesting. It was like an eye opener for me that how a war not only affects a region but also people, relationships, emotions and culture.

Definitely, 5 stars for the book. I would have written more but its a pity that I had to wrap the review in few words. My favorite thing in the plot is that two timelines are going parallelly which takes the book to a whole another level. Thanks to Netgalley, Rachel's Random Resources and Boldwood Books for giving me an opportunity to read and review the book. ( )

I was aware that Ukraine and Russia had a long history with each other but this book educated me about the Russian invasion in the 1930's and their attempt to kill the citizens of Ukraine by starving them to death. Almost four million people died in this man made famine. The book was published at an opportune time as the Russians are once again trying to take over Ukraine and a look back at the previous invasion made me understand better what is going on now. History IS repeating itself.

This beautifully written and well researched novel is told in two time lines. Katya gives us the first timeline in the 1930s in Ukraine. She is 16 years old, part of a happy family and in love with the boy next door. When Stalin's Army reaches her small village, they insist that everyone join the collective and they take all of the farmers grain, food and animals with the promise that the collective would take care of them if they worked for them. What really happened was that much of the grain was sent back to Russia or left to rot near the train station. After the Russians took away the food, they began to supply meager rations of food to the people. With no way to grow their own food, families began to starve to death. Many of the men were arrested and sent to Siberia to die.

The second time line is told by Cassie seventy years later in Illinois. She is a young widow and is dealing with the loss of her husband when her mother suggests that she and her daughter move in with her grandmother to take care of Bobby. Her grandmother is an immigrant from Ukraine and as her dementia worsens, she begins to talk to people that she knew growing up. She has never told any of her family what she lived through growing up but when she shares her diary with Cassie they find out about her difficult life in Ukraine in the 1930s.

This book is based on the author's grandparents. It's so well written that it's hard to believe that this is a debut novel. I was extremely impressed and expect more fantastic books from her in the future.

This book will be a real eye-opener for people who don't know about the Holodomor in Ukraine by the Russians in the 1930s. Holodomor means a man-made famine which the Russians used to try to destroy the Ukraine population. It's more than a history book - it's also about finding love and taking care of family during the darkest times and the resilience of people to survive and save their families. We still see the resilience and the bravery of the people of Ukraine as they fight to save their country from the Russians once again. ( )