The pulse of this story is closely based on actual happenings, taken from first-hand accounts from victims of the chaos, horrors and heartache war perpetuates upon civilians in a country, in this case the Ukraine, when conquerors overtake.
I do not think I have enough adjectives to describe all the atrocities revealed within these pages: grim; horrendous; numbing, are some I can give you. Harsh. Tears. Yet some of the characters manage to have some smiles despite all the cruelty and brutality to which they were exposed.
If a reader has read the precusor book to this one, The Memory Keeper of Kyiv, you'll be familiar with the names Alina, Katya, Kolya, and Halya. You'll meet them here and then recall the Holodomor hell. Once again, the Ukrainians are battered by neighboring countries. Yet Slavko, Liliya, Filip, Maksym, Viku and others are new faces on the block who somehow hang tenaciously on to life.
The daughters the reader will follow in their respective chapters are Liliya, Halya, and Viku. They endure untold hardships and agonies along with the rest of the populace. I was totally amazed and stunned at their sesilience. Their stories are told and do overlap, intertwining while showing fine Ukrainian spine.
It was interesting to learn some about Polish Arabian horses, which have special feature.
I feel that because the author bases this book on firsthand accounts handed down from her great grandfather and uncle that it lends extra authenticity to the story and therefore all the more poignant a story.
All of this puts current events into perspective I feel, educating thoughtful readers, allowing them to 'feel' in some measure what the victims of war felt back then and likely now. Thus it is not necessarily an easy story to read. However I need to give this book a 5-Star rating as I believe the author has captured the pathos of the situation in a phenomenally moving manner.
~Eunice C., Reviewer/Blogger~
April 2023
Disclaimer: This is my honest opinion based on the complimentary review copy sent by NetGalley and the publisher.
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