ABOUT THE BOOK:
An epic novel exposing the ugliness of war and the beauty of hope.
The city of Kiev was bombed in Hitler's blitzkrieg across the Soviet Union, but the constant siege was only the beginning for her citizens. In this sweeping historical saga, Kelli Stuart takes the reader on a captivating journey into the little-known history of Ukraine's tragedies through the eyes of four compelling characters who experience the same story from different perspectives.
Maria Ivanovna is only fourteen when the bombing begins and not much older when she is forced into work at a German labor camp. She must fight to survive and to make her way back to her beloved Ukraine.
Ivan Kyrilovich is falsely mistaken for a Jew and lined up with 34,000 other men, women, and children who are to be shot at the edge of Babi Yar, the "killing ditch." He survives, but not without devastating consequences.
Luda is sixteen when German soldiers rape her. Now pregnant with the child of the enemy, she is abandoned by her father, alone, and in pain. She must learn to trust family and friends again and find her own strength in order to discover the redemption that awaits.
Frederick Hermann is sure in his knowledge that the Führer's plans for domination
are right and just. He is driven to succeed by a desire to please a demanding father and by his own blind faith in the ideals of Nazism.
Based on true stories gathered from fifteen years of research and interviews with Ukrainian World War II survivors, Like a River from Its Course is a story of love, war, heartache, forgiveness, and redemption.
MY THOUGHTS:
I found this book difficult to read. The four separate characters weren't woven together as much as I was expecting and the spiritual thread was almost non-existent.
(Near the end of the book, Ivan and his wife encounter and embrace a very Catholic-feeling kind of religion - a priest, stained glass windows, and icons of Mary and Jesus).
Luda's story was also very hard to read. I understand that such horrific things happened, but some of the language used by her father just made me uncomfortable.
It just felt like a book of sorrows. Oh, yes, I understand that so much of WWII was sorrowful...but, I do like reading about the hope and joy that some found despite the awfulness going on around them. Or at least some hope and joy that some may have found post-war.
That's what I thought! Click HERE to see what other reviewers are saying!
Thank you to Kelli and Kregel through Litfuse for sending me a copy to read and review!
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**DISCLOSURE: I was given a free product in exchange for an honest review. Please read my full disclosure policy HERE.**
