The Memory Keeper of Kyiv: The most powerful, important historical novel of 2022

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This extraordinary book began as the notebook of a teenage boy, half-Russian, half-Ukrainian, who witnessed the events surrounding the Nazis’ killing of 33,771 Jews in Kyiv’s Babyn Yar ravine in September 1941. When it was published in a Soviet journal in 1966, it was heavily censored. The antisemitism of the Stalinist regime was still embedded in the Soviet cultural establishment, which saw only “Soviet” victims of the war. “There are no monuments over Babyn Yar”, as Yevtushenko wrote in his famous poem about the massacre in 1961. This is a story that will not be easily forgotten. It will stay with you long after you read it. It is a part of history I knew nothing about. I cannot believe now the Soviets are once again terrorizing the people in the Ukraine. History really does repeat itself. I do recommend this book. First of all these are very savvy and punctured people. Living through lifetimes of being full boat annihilated and all their goods, homes, cultural mores, religion being taken away from them by government. And usually not even able to speak their own languages in schools or any public forum. Starvation merely one of the sidebars. The following description of the early 1930s Ukraine is excerpted from the nonfiction history book The Gates of Europe, by Serhii Plokhy. Altogether, close to 4 million people perished in Ukraine as a result of the famine, more than decimating the country—every eighth person succumbed to hunger between 1932 and 1934. Portions of this story will bring you to tears. However, the book also contains romance and parent-child love which will make you feel good. Late in the book the story contains a poignant heart warming communication between great-grandmother and great-granddaughter. And the very end of the Epilogue contains a final surprise.

Je maakt steeds sprongen naar deze gebeurtenissen die zich rond 1929-1934 afspelen. Vooral deze stukken vond ik erg interessant en heftig. Je leest over de grote liefde van Katya en de vreselijke dingen die zij, haar familie en andere bewoners van Oekraïne hebben moeten meemaken. Ook is het natuurlijk interessant om meer over Cassie en haar dochtertje te lezen, maar de periode van Katya vond ik toch net even wat boeiender. Er zitten echt schokkende momenten tussen namelijk. You must be an active member to advertise your book or giveaway, and you MUST post in the appropriate folder. See rules for more info. Erin Litteken's passion for Ukrainian culture and history is evident through this sensitive, impactful tribute to a little-known, deeply important time. Heart wrenching and heart warming, THE MEMORY KEEPER OF KYIV is a story of unwavering courage and unyielding hope.Insgesamt war das Buch für mich aber eine lesenswerte Geschichte, die gerade in diesen Zeiten aufzeigt, was Krieg bedeutet und wie sehr Menschen in solch grausamen schweren Zeiten leiden.

The story follows an Ukrainian family and their struggle for survival as the country is forced to go through Holodomor. I had never heard of this or learned about this in school . Holodomor is a forced starvation from 1932 to 1933 killing up to 5 million people. It was carried out by the Soviet Regime.The contemporary timeline, while interesting, is very drab in comparison to the past story. It is too predictable. The characters are pretty one-dimensional. I also found it very farfetched that Cassie’s family, especially her mom, knew zilch about their Ukrainian heritage. Cassie seemed quite incapable of understanding even the most obvious of connections while the rest of us could decode the clues from a mile away. The Memory Keeper of Kyiv is told in a dual timeline fashion with alternating PoVs; Katya in the 1930s in Tetiiv Raion of the Kyiv Region and Cassie, 2004 in Illinois. This story is not for the faint of heart. It is a heart-wrenching story of starvation, loss, and death. Both Katya and Cassie experienced varying degrees of loss, but they learn to move forward in life and make the best of it.