This book was a slow starter for me. It was inspired by the fact that a group of people in the Warsaw ghetto undertook gathering writings that detaileThis book was a slow starter for me. It was inspired by the fact that a group of people in the Warsaw ghetto undertook gathering writings that detailed the lives of those imprisoned so that when they were gone, their history would be remembered.
Adam Paskow, a widowed English teacher, tells the story in this book. He is asked to start journaling the lives of those around him to add to their archives. Initially, the details recorded are fairly mundane but they provide an overview of daily life and as one gets to know the people he connected with daily, one sees more of the horrors that are commonplace and what people will do to try and ensure survival. Along the way, he falls in love with one of his flat mates who is married with children. As word comes that evacuations are starting, the tension builds with an ending that comes as a surprise....more
This book is not your typical World War story. It doesn't focus on the battles, the blitz, resistance or the genocide of the HoloLove against all odds
This book is not your typical World War story. It doesn't focus on the battles, the blitz, resistance or the genocide of the Holocaust. It does tell of the emotional challenges faced by so many who did endure these things. Nathan was raised in a very dysfunctional home with an abusive father and a mother who never spoke out against what was happening to her. As a young boy, Nathan met Elise on a beach and when she was cut in a fall gave her his handkerchief to stop the bleeding. It was years before he would meet her again.
Vivienne and her parents came to England shortly before the war began. When she met Nathan, she fell in love with him(despite his strange parents with their old world ideas). After a two day honeymoon, he left to go to war as a naval officer. Shortly after his departure Vivi received devastating family news. She next saw Nathan months later after he had been injured in the evacuation from Dunkirk.
While in hospital, Nathan had been nursed by Elise who was working as a VAD nurse. She was a strong support through those difficult days and when Nathan returned home, Vivi found him changed, closed off from her in spite of her love for him.
These three characters form the basis for the rest of the book. There is mystery and tragedy, but also love. Vivienne is a strong woman whose heart is big enough to forgive and to love even those who cause her pain.
The writing and descriptions were beautiful. As a reader I felt sadness and joy. I would definitely recommend this book in all its complexity....more
This was a fascinating book filled with history and tragedy both in Scotland during the Highland Clearances, on the ships that brought those being cleThis was a fascinating book filled with history and tragedy both in Scotland during the Highland Clearances, on the ships that brought those being cleared to Gross Isle where the threat of typhus was ever present and caused so many to die and on through the difficulties of settling in a new land. It is all tied together by a murder on Entry Island, home to approximately 100 English speakers. Through time hidden family roots are revealed, told through memories of old stories shared by a detective's grandmother. But who was the murderer, and what could possibly have been the motive? I was fooled.
I will also point people to the review written by Barbara. I read it before reading the book and even though my sister Barbara had introduced me to the writing of Peter May, I didn't immediately recognize that she was the reviewer. We both had similar feeling about shared places in our history and even visited the Isle of Lewis together on vacation some years ago....more
I read this one so I could pass it on to my granddaughter. Compared to some others that I've read in the series, this one lacked a little but it improI read this one so I could pass it on to my granddaughter. Compared to some others that I've read in the series, this one lacked a little but it improved as it went along and the diary keeper gradually matured. She started off as young for her age (turning 13) and she never claimed to like keeping a journal. It was given her as a birthday gift and if she kept it regularly she would receive a special gift at the end of the year from her sister. It tells the tale of what it was like to host children sent to Canada from England to escape the dangers of the war and was realistic in it's descriptions of some of the issues faced by these youth. Not all had happy experiences. It was also a good window into Winnipeg and what life was like during wartime. I was still happy to give this one to my granddaughter to read....more
Many thanks to #NetGalley and #BoldwoodBooks for allowing me the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of The Memory Keeper of Kyiv by debut autMany thanks to #NetGalley and #BoldwoodBooks for allowing me the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of The Memory Keeper of Kyiv by debut author Erin Litteken. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.
First let me say that I feel privileged to have been able to read this book written by an author of Ukrainian descent in this time when news of Ukraine is definitely one of the dominating news stories of our time. Growing up in Canada, very little was taught to me in our school system about Ukraine and so I have been on a learning quest. Although this book is fictional, it is inspired by real events that took place in what is now known as the "Holodomor" or "death by hunger"and appears to have been extremely well researched.
The novel is told in dual timeline - the reader meets Cassie in 2004 USA and and Katya in 1929 Ukraine. A year after the loss of her husband in a dreadful car accident, Cassie is still grieving and her daughter has stopped talking. When her mother brings news that Cassie's "Bobby" (grandmother) is in poor health and could benefit from Cassie's presence, she reluctantly packs up and moves to live with her grandmother. Will this bring her the opportunity to let go of her grief and move forward with life? As her grandmother's memory fades, will Cassie learn her story before it is too late? What terrible things happened in "Bobby's" life that she has never been able to share with her family? Who is Nick, the neighbour who so conveniently speaks Ukrainian and always seems to be around when help is needed?
In 1929, Katya is a young girl with a newly discovered love for a childhood playmate and the hope of a happy future ahead. Things quickly take a turn for the worse as Russian activists arrive virtually forcing local farmers to sign away their lands to the "collective". Woe betide those who dare to speak out against them or those who are viewed as being the "elite". They will be the first to disappear. Families will be decimated and food will be a luxury given to few, even as filled grain bins are allowed to rot. Katya lives through terrible times losing those she loves yet somehow manages to hang on and survive. Though she survives, she struggles with forgiving herself for living when others could not. Can she find happiness out of despair? Will her story help ease the pain in Cassie's heart?
The entwining of Cassie and Katya's stories kept me glued to my e-reader as I read. There were parts of this story that were difficult to read. Man's inhumanity to fellow humans is horrific as anyone who follows the news today can clearly see. The history entwined throughout this novel speaks to the resilience of the Ukrainian people who have grappled with despair and war more than once in the past. It amazes me how strong they are as a people. I would definitely recommend this book to others who would like a better understanding of the past and how it affected those who lived through it and those who came after....more
This is a book in the Dear Canada series and I have enjoyed all of the books that I've read in the series thus far including this one. I was born and This is a book in the Dear Canada series and I have enjoyed all of the books that I've read in the series thus far including this one. I was born and spent all of my youth in the province of Quebec and have visited Quebec City numerous times so this book told from the perspective of a young Abenaki girl raised by the French gave me a very interesting look at the civilian life in the lead up to the battle on the Plains of Abraham. This was a pivotal point in our history and I felt the author did an excellent job in telling the story through diary entries. I particularly appreciated that it was told from the perspective of a First Nations girl even though she was quite well assimilated into the French culture. Coming from Quebec I had no issues with the French interspersed throughout the story. There was an index at the back which might be more useful at the front for some readers. Books like this really help to make history come alive....more
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and #NetGalley for allowing me to read an e-galley of this book. What follows is my honest review.
First of all, I feMany thanks to St. Martin’s Press and #NetGalley for allowing me to read an e-galley of this book. What follows is my honest review.
First of all, I feel very privileged to have been able to read this book. The author, Renia Spiegel never intended it to be read by the public. It was a deeply personal look at her life and feelings from January 1939 until her death at the hands of the Nazi's just after her 18th birthday in 1942. At times while reading it I felt almost like a voyeur seeing her most private thoughts, especially about her developing love life.
At the beginning of the book there is an excellent preface that explains that diaries differ from memoirs and biographies in that as the author is writing, he or she has no idea how the story is going to turn out. It is purely written in the moment featuring what stood out to the author at the time. Explanations of who is who are not always included because the writer had no need of them. She knew the details that would fill out the story.
After the preface there is an introduction written by Renia’s sister who did survive the Holocaust. She had known of the existence of the diary for many years as she had received it from Renia’s boyfriend after the war but has only read portions of it even to this day as it is too emotionally difficult for her.
Now as to Renia’s writing. She was 15 at the beginning of the journal. I don’t have personal journals from that age, but I do have some from when I was sixteen. Subject matter was similar but Renia included poems that she had written throughout her journal and they were extremely well done and really expressed her emotions and feelings well. Initially as war began her life didn’t change very much. As the part of Poland that she lived in was taken over by the Russians her life changed somewhat but her daily musings were still focused on her interactions with classmates and friends. Much of her writing then would hold little of interest to the average reader and I found it challenging to read and follow what was going on at times. She missed her mother (who was in Warsaw) terribly and had a strong faith in G_d, praying on pretty much a daily basis. When the Germans took over things changed and her focus began to include the ways that the German presence was affecting her life including the fear of the ghetto. The last words in the journal are not hers, but rather the words of her boyfriend written very shortly after her death. Life changed in an instant.
The last part of the book is again told by Renia’s sister. She puts things in their historical perspective, explaining what was going on locally as the journal was actually being written and giving some substance to things that Renia had either inferred or briefly mentioned. I found this part very well written and interesting.
I have seen comparisons of this book to the journal that Anne Frank kept. Each are equally important as they represent a valuable life lived and it is important that their stories speak for them. Having said that, I don’t feel this journal is quite as accessible to the average reader as Anne’s was. Anne’s was primarily written in an enclosed space with a set group of people. Renia had far more freedom of movement throughout most of the journal. I think this made it a little more difficult to follow. I have pondered and pondered over how to rate this book. I have to bear in mind that it was not written to be read by others but purely for herself and rate it more on the importance of the work and on that basis I give this a 5 star rating...more
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