The Lost Daughters of Ukraine , livre ebook

Boldwood Books - Erin Litteken

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221 pages

English

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The brand new historical novel from Erin Litteken, bestselling author of The Memory Keeper of Kyiv, based on her family's heart-wrenching escape from war-torn Europe.

A story of the strength of the human spirit, the personal cost of conflict and how love can be found even in the darkest times.

Summer 1941. War rages in Europe. The Germans march towards Ukraine. Halya, Liliya and Vika are no strangers to sorrow. They lost family during the Holodomor, loved ones in Stalin's purges, and war looms once more on the horizon.

Vika lives in fear for her children. She and her sister survived the terror famine by leaving their whole family behind. Now, years later, many believe the Germans will free them from the Soviets, but she’s not so sure. Should they stay in Volhynia or flee the approaching Eastern front?

Liliya has lost too much in her 17 years. As those around her join the resistance, Liliya wonders how she can fight for her friends, family, and country. When the choice is made for her, can she find the will to survive and protect those still with her?

Twelve-year-old Halya is struggling to discover who she is. But as the war escalates, can her mother Katya’s tactics keep her safe from the Nazi soldiers rounding up slave laborers? How can a child survive the horrors of war on her own?

These daughters of Ukraine will face devastation and loss as they fight to survive and protect the ones they love.

A gripping page-turner of love, loss and resilience for fans of The Nightingale and The Rose Code

"A beautiful, hard-hitting tribute to her own family's history and to the people of unbowed, unbroken Ukraine" Amanda McCrina, author of Traitor and The Silent Unseen

"Litteken’s compelling, well-researched and moving storytelling soars as it brings to life a harrowing slice of history while intricately highlighting the past that echoes to the present day" Marina Scott, author of The Hunger Between Us

"A multi-layered saga woven with history and heart... An unforgettable gem of historical fiction" Paulette Kennedy, bestselling author of The Witch of Tin Mountain

"Erin Litteken gives voice to WWII Ukraine with gritty authenticity...The Lost Daughters of Ukraine is a broom to sweep out Putin's propaganda" Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch, author of Making Bombs for Hitler and Winterkill

"A powerful and heart-rending work of fiction that depicts the stunning strength and endurance of a Ukrainian family... In times when it is sorely needed, this remarkable story is written with tenderness and courage." Kimberly Brock, bestselling author of The Lost Book of Eleanor Dare

"Vivid, heartfelt and informative" Historical Novel Society

Praise for The Memory Keeper of Kyiv:

"A compelling and intimate story of love and survival. Harrowing and haunting . . . yet, at the same time, it is sensitive, beautiful and inspiring. Everybody should read this story, especially now. I cannot recommend it highly enough." Christy Lefteri, author of The Beekeeper of Aleppo

"A powerfully moving debut... Ukraine's tragic history painfully echoes its current crisis, and on every page the Ukrainian spirit shines out, unbowed, unbent and unbroken." Kate Quinn, author of The Rose Code and The Alice Network

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Publié par	Boldwood Books
Date de parution	24 avril 2023
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781804157756
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,2050€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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PRAISE FOR ERIN LITTEKEN

“A beautiful, hard-hitting tribute to her own family’s history and to the people of unbowed, unbroken Ukraine.” Amanda McCrina, author of The Silent Unseen

“Litteken’s compelling, well-researched and moving storytelling soars as it brings to life a harrowing slice of history while intricately highlighting the past that echoes to the present day.” Marina Scott, author of The Hunger Between Us

“A multi-layered saga woven with history and heart… An unforgettable gem of historical fiction.” Paulette Kennedy, bestselling author of The Witch of Tin Mountain

“Erin Litteken gives voice to WWII Ukraine with gritty authenticity… The Lost Daughters of Ukraine is a broom to sweep out Putin’s propaganda.” Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch, author of Making Bombs for Hitler

"A powerfully moving debut . . . Ukraine’s tragic history painfully echoes its current crisis, and on every page the Ukrainian spirit shines out, unbowed, unbent and unbroken.” Kate Quinn, author of The Diamond Eye

"A compelling and intimate story of love and survival. Harrowing and haunting . . . yet, at the same time, it is sensitive, beautiful and inspiring. Everybody should read this story, especially now. I cannot recommend it highly enough." Christy Lefteri, author of The Beekeeper of Aleppo

"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. A remarkable read not to be missed." Lisa Wingate, author of Before We Were Yours

"This beautifully written snapshot of Ukraine’s history is both timely and heart-rending, sensitively bringing to life the culture of a nation devastated by an enemy invader. How shocking it is that it’s a history that’s being repeated today. And how important a reminder that where there’s life, there’s hope." Fiona Valpy, author of The Dressmaker’s Gift

“ The Memory Keeper of Kyiv is a meticulously researched novel . . . depicting a country whose people managed to dig deep enough to find the strength, determination and heart to survive." Deborah Carr, author of An Island at War
THE LOST DAUGHTERS OF UKRAINE

ERIN LITTEKEN
For Bobby
CONTENTS

Historical Note

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Chapter 49

Chapter 50

Chapter 51

Chapter 52

Chapter 53

Chapter 54

Chapter 55

Chapter 56

Chapter 57

Chapter 58

Chapter 59

Acronyms & Terms

Author’s Note

Acknowledgments

Book Club Questions

More from Erin Litteken

About the Author

About Boldwood Books
HISTORICAL NOTE

To better understand the setting of this novel, one must be somewhat familiar with the history. On the heels of World War I, the 1921 Treaty of Riga ended the Soviet-Polish war, and in Ukraine, it ended several years of multi-front fighting to create an independent country. Ukraine was divided between Poland and the Soviet Union, and Volhynia, a historic region located in what is now western Ukraine and comprised primarily of Ukrainians, fell under Polish rule.
During this interwar period, Poland wanted to assimilate their newly acquired territory into their way of life. Polish authorities closed Ukrainian schools, destroyed Orthodox churches, and arrested Ukrainian leaders, teachers, and priests. Polish veterans of WW1 were given prime land in Volhynia in a colonial attempt to strengthen the Polish grip there. In return, Ukrainian nationalists assassinated Polish leaders and attacked Polish landowners. Poland then opened what is now recognized as a concentration camp, Bereza Kartuska, where Ukrainian nationalists were imprisoned without trial and tortured and abused.
In 1939, the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany started World War II by invading Poland and dividing the country between them. In the east, the Soviets occupied Volhynia until 1941, when Hitler broke his pact with Stalin and attacked the Soviet Union. Under German occupation, Volhynia became a part of the newly formed Reichskommissariat Ukraine. Both regimes devastated Ukraine and Poland, destroying villages and cities and arresting, deporting and murdering millions. During this upheaval, the historic tensions between the Poles and Ukrainians erupted in a series of violent clashes and brutal massacres of innocent civilians. Whole villages were decimated and the sheer brutality of these deaths—often executed with farm implements—contrasted directly with generations of intertwined families and friendships between Poles and Ukrainians. It is an ugly, nuanced history that even today is hard to comprehend.

* * *
My grandfather was born in Volhynia. He and his family lived through this turmoil. Much of the following novel is inspired by their experiences.
PROLOGUE

Halya unfolded the weathered paper—the most important personal possession she had left in the world—and stared down at the sketch of her parents. Innocent and young, they had no idea what troubles their daughter would face one day—no idea that their likeness, drawn with such remarkable precision, would be a salve on their daughter’s soul as she struggled to survive this war. But then, who could have anticipated this horror? Who could have dreamed up such a nightmare?
She flipped the paper over, the roughened skin on her fingers catching at the jagged edges as she wrote, carefully listing the names just like Mama did in her paper prayer booklet from the church. Mama had two lists in her book—one for the dead and one for the living. Halya only had this single page to document both.
She let the names pass by her lips silently as she transcribed them, breathing them into the night air and invoking their memories, letting the solace they provided seep into her.

Alina
Katya
Kolya
Slavko
Liliya
Vika
Maksym
Bohdan
Sofia
Nadya
Some dead. Some alive.
Some, the family she’d found; some, the family she’d lost.
Like the scars on her body, they would forever be a part of her.
Her father’s words pulsed in the evening air as if he were there, whispering in her ear, his arms wrapped tight around her. She could almost feel the stubble on his jaw tickling her cheek.
Promise me you will be brave and always fight, no matter what happens. Fight, because life is always worth fighting for.
“I fought, Tato,” she whispered. She brushed a tear off her cheek with the back of her hand before it could fall and smear the names. “And I will keep fighting. I promise.”
1
LILIYA

June 1941, Volhynia Oblast, Soviet Ukraine

Liliya recognized her brother’s body by the jagged scar under his right eye. She’d given him that wound eight years ago, when she was seven and he was ten, swinging a bucket at his face after he’d snuck up behind her while she fed and watered the chickens. Her brother, always a prankster, had laughed at her reaction, even as she’d cried over his spilled blood.
Now that seemed such a foolish thing to cry over.
A strangled sob escaped her lips and drew her father near as she fell to her knees. Half of Mykhailo’s face was missing, his body bloated. A villager from Lutsk had told them the NKVD—the Soviet police force—had dragged the first round of inmates into the courtyard and unleashed a volley of hand grenades and tank fire on the prisoners. They’d forced the remaining prisoners to bury the dead before killing more and fleeing the advancing Nazis, leaving those bodies out to rot in the sun.
The prisoners. Enemies of the people. Intelligentsia. Nationalists. Anyone who didn’t support Stalin.
Her brother.
As hard as it was to see Mykhailo’s one lifeless blue eye staring up at her, it was better than never knowing what had happened to him. Uncertainty would have left room for hope, and hope had no place here.
Mykhailo—her big brother, her idol, her biggest supporter. When they were young, when Poland ruled Volhynia, he’d earned money to buy her a sketchbook like her mother’s. Mama thought Liliya too young, but he saw the way her eyes followed the swallows as they swooped around the barn, the way her fingers traced their movements in the dirt.
“Here, Liliya,” he’d said, handing her the pad and tugging her braid. “Start now and you’ll be as good as Mama in no time. Maybe even better.”
Liliya still had that sketchbook, tucked away under her clothes in a trunk back home. Filled with rudimentary drawings and childish notes, it was almost laughable compared to the detailed sketches she did now. Still, she didn’t think she’d ever be as good an artist as their mother, who, despite lacking a formal higher education, had taught herself more about shadows and light while drawing wildlife and family members than many professional artists.
“It’s time, Liliya.” Her father, his face drawn and gaunt, touched her shoulder. “We’re burying them together. Here. The Germans are close, and I want to get home to your mother before they arrive.”
Liliya stepped back as the men moved her brother to a mass grave, but she didn’t turn away. She would bear witness to this, to everything the Soviets had done to them during their two years of occupation.