The Memory Keeper of Kyiv by Erin Litteken

The seed of this story lies in the manmade famine which was a result of Stalin's brutal collectivisation scheme. It's about a long forgotten episode of history that wiped around four million people from the face of earth and to date, Russia continues to deny the inhumane consequences that unfolded in Ukraine between 1932-33.

History has stirred many lives, crumbling those upside down - lost families, forgotten love, failed relationships without a trial - everything together adding new dimensions to the world as we know it. Through the darket hours, these stories have demonstrated time and again, the resilience of human spirit akin to a tiny ray of light at the end of even the most labrynthine tunnels. The poignancy of wars and destitution devastate us all, making this an important read. Evidently, history repeats itself as the release of this book coincides with similar atrocities being inflicted on the people of Ukraine.

The story is set in two parallel timelines - one, the historical timeline when the acual story unfolds and the other is a present-day narrartive converging into a potpourri of adaptive cultural nuances, sprinkled with modernistic conveniences. As it often happens, I get too marinted in the original account, finding the present-day recollecion bit of a drag.

It's 1926, and Katya is a 16 year old Ukrainian peasant girl, very much in love with the boy next door. The girl is full of aspirational but achievable dreams for her future as she helps her parents on their modest but prosperous feilds. Katya, her parents and her sister flourish in their small village as they go about their routine with great pride and a sense of stability. With the gradual introduction of Stalin's extensive collectivisation scheme, things begin to change in a drastic manner - abusive grain qoutas, exorbitant taxes, policies to snatch pieces of land from locals in the name of collectivisation, disapperance and murder of their neighbors, arrest of Katya's father and rising resistance among the people. Through a series of events that testify the struggle for survival, Katya is left with hardly any support. The family which is shown to hold great love and closeness finds itself coping with consecutive losses of unamiginable magnitudes.

What stood out for me?

• The historical narrative is well-crafted with strong and gutsy chracters. How they evolve as the book progresses is also impressive and will keep you hooked.

• The elemental theme of the book is very important and barely ever talked about. It is a horrific account of the atrocties rendered by Stalin and his men, at the same time shines a blinding light on how hope finds a way to seep in and eclipse even the most crippling setbacks.

• The strong sense of authenticity that comes across through the author's note in the end. It is a pleasant surprise to learn how she has retained so many elements of her Ukrainian roots that she imbibed from her grandmother.

What failed to hit the mark?

• The present-day narrative made me impatient because of the one-dimensional characters and a bland story progression. My mind and heart kept craving for more details around the historical narrative.

• The romantic angle that mushrooms towards the end in the present-day narrative did not add any value and fell flat.

• There was a lot of scope to add more about the larger theme of collectivization. At times, the flow of the story felt too contained within the village in question, forcing you to wonder what must have happened in the whole of Ukraine. Of course, the essence was poignantly and beautiffuly put, but I would have loved to read more about the bigger picture.

All in all, I still found it to be a great read and I feel you can skim though the contemporary parts and delve deeper into the historical chapters. The contents of those chapters have much depth to compensate for the present-day story blandness. There are a plethora of triggering events depicted in the book, making it surreal knowing that Ukraine is undergoing the same sense of loss all over again. Not to mention, the characters are in close resemblance to the spirit of great tenacity portrayed by present day Ukrainians fighting with all they have - it is certainly something that has captivated the hearts of millions of us around the world!