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

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A stunning portrait of Ukraine and its people, of strength, of endurance, of the fight for survival during the forced famine, the Holodomor, but also a tender story of Katya, a grandmother whose hidden history holds the power to guide her granddaughter through the darkness of loss and grief, toward life and a limitless future. Despite the loss of most of her family, Katya finds the inner strength to survive and find a glimmer of hope on the darkest of days. 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.

At a young age, she was enthralled by stories of her family’s harrowing experiences in Ukraine before, during and after World War II. Katya's granddaughter was rather difficult to like – she was very rude and abrasive at times – and her perspective didn't add much to the story. This novel will appeal to readers who want to know about the Holodomor, but who like their history wrapped in romance. Her dual timeline is set in the fictional village of Sonayshnyky, Ukraine in 1929 and in Wisconsin, USA in 2004.The granddaughter of a Ukrainian refugee, Litteken grew up hearing about the difficulties of life in Eastern Europe during, and after, World War II. But now this aging grandmother is developing symptoms of dementia, and those memories from long ago are beginning to arise. 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. This is a book that people should read, if for no other reason than to make sure we never forget, that we don’t fail these millions of souls—those who perished, and those who survived. 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.

She wasn’t sure what she believed anymore, but if someone had the chance to escape this hell, dead or alive, she certainly didn’t want to invite them back. While I commend Erin Litteken for trying to spread awareness about Stalin's atrocities, unfortunately this novel ultimately fell a bit flat. Dear Readers, The seeds of this story took root in my mind even before Russia invaded Crimea in 2014, and now I sit drafting this letter while the news of Russia’s brutal attack on Ukraine–its cities, its civilians, its future–plays on the television in the background.Inspired by the history the world forgot, and the Russian government denies, Erin Litteken reimagines their story. Most well examined is the horror of Holodomor - a man-made famine that would result in nearly 28,000 Ukrainians dying each day.