The Lost Year: A Survival Story of the Ukrainian Famine

“Since early that fall, people from the countryside had been arriving in Kyiv, claiming there was not enough to eat. Papa told me not to believe their lies. They were kulaks, wealthy peasants, who, along with priests, aristocrats, and tsarist sympathizers, were our class enemies. In the Pioneers, we’d learned all about the importance of ridding society of kulaks, who refused to give up their land to join collective farms and hid their grain so they wouldn’t have to share it. Papa said they’d rather beg on the street than work together for the common good. The only reason there were food rations at all in the cities was because of the kulaks and their greed and laziness.”

Mila’s relationship with her father and involvement in the Young Pioneers define how she sees the world. She doesn’t understand that her country is in crisis, because her father has taught her otherwise. This highlights the theme of The Challenges of Widespread Crises. Because some people have a stake in minimizing the sense of crisis, it can be difficult to discover just how dire the situation is. This passage therefore establishes Mila’s outlook at the novel’s start and foreshadows how her perspective will change after she meets her cousin Nadiya.

“Pop must have ordered Mom to leave me be, because she didn’t come to smooth my hair or rub my back the way she usually did when I was upset. I huddled in a tight ball under my covers, slammed my fist into my pillow. How I hated him! Someday, I told myself, I would be all grown-up and never have to listen to him again. Already I was twelve and a half—just six more years and I could get a job and never touch another cabbage roll again, just eat 3 Musketeers and Snickers all day.”

Helen’s conflicts with her family and home life define how she sees herself at the start of her account. She’s living in the US during the Great Depression and has cousins starving in Ukraine. However, she doesn’t understand how these crises are impacting her life at this early juncture of the story. The passage therefore foreshadows the lessons that Helen will learn over the course of the chapters that follow.

“I was briefly excited. Even though Mom wouldn’t let me open packages myself in case they were covered in Covid germs, and I didn’t wash my hands as carefully as she did, deliveries had become a pathetic highlight of my day. But then I saw what she’d left for me: a fancy-looking red notebook with an elastic strap. A note from Dad was printed up on an Amazon slip: Write what’s wrong. Love you, Dad. I groaned. Very punny. I grabbed a pencil off the table, opened to the first page, and scribbled, What happened to GG? That’s what I wanted to think about. Not everything that was wrong with my life.”

Matthew’s notebook offers him a safe space to express his feelings and process his experiences. He’s initially disinterested in picking up journaling, but his perspective changes as soon as he receives the Moleskine in the mail. The notebook ultimately helps Matthew through his coming-of-age process, in that his newfound writing hobby gives him a way to explore his world and identity.

“I hadn’t meant to sound sorry for myself. It was GG I should be sorry for, keeping some terrible, life-changing secret all to herself. But GG reached out and stroked my hand. ‘Alone,’ she said. I felt a lump in my throat, tried to swallow it down. ‘Yeah.’ GG didn’t make me talk about it, though. She just sighed. ‘The third was Mila.’”

Connecting with GG offers Matthew a new understanding of his family history and gives him perspective on his own life. GG confides in Matthew, which makes him feel seen, valued, and important. GG’s secrets teach Matthew how privileged and fortunate he is. This passage also signals the start of GG’s story and initiates a narrative shift into the past in the chapters that follow.

“‘Mila, tell me. Have you ever been afraid?’ The truth was that I rarely had been. I always felt safe thanks to my own papa and Papa Stalin. But then I felt the ghost of a prickle on my hand, and before I could stop myself, the story of the lice in the envelope came spilling out. ‘It was the first time I was really frightened, after Papa told me. But just for a minute.’ Anna Mikhailovna didn’t say anything, she just stared, as if she had never imagined a person like me. Finally, she sighed.”

Mila’s conversation with Anna foreshadows the challenges that Mila will soon face. Mila’s privileged life has kept her sheltered from hardship throughout her childhood. However, her relationships with Anna and Nadiya will soon awaken her to The Challenges of Widespread Crises around her.

“I couldn’t help Pop, but perhaps there was a way for me to take his burden and try to help his family. Pop kept his correspondence next to his accounting leger and bills in the desk drawer of the secretary. For the first time in my life, I was grateful for the Russian lessons my parents made me take twice a week. I could read the Cyrillic letters, find my aunt’s address. I couldn’t send her money, though. I hardly had any—just an emergency nickel for the bus and eight cents I’d been saving for candy. I would have to send her something else.”

Helen sends her cross to her cousins in Ukraine because she is desperate to help her family in whatever way she can. Helen is only 12 years old, but she has an empathetic and caring character. She doesn’t dismiss her family’s hardships but rather takes them on as her own. This passage establishes Helen as a gracious, thoughtful character and foreshadows the ways she will devote herself to others’ needs throughout her life.

“As I trudged to my room, I tried to console myself. At least, thanks to Dasha, Nadiya had something to eat. And probably Papa was right—that she had parents who had put her up to this act. I told myself this was true, if only so I didn’t have to imagine her hopeless and alone.”

Mila is reluctant to believe Nadiya’s story because she is afraid of distrusting her father and questioning her own identity. This emphasizes How Family Stories Shape Identity. However, Nadiya becomes a source of disruption and profound change in Mila’s life. Nadiya awakens Mila to her country’s dire social and economic conditions and to the truth of her family’s origins.

“Blood rushed to my face. What was the New York Times reporter talking about? Pop’s family wasn’t just hungry. They had written they were starving, that they had nothing to eat! Maybe, I’d misunderstand what the New York Times was saying. I leaned forward, listening with my whole body, trying to make sense of what Joseph was reading.”

Helen reacts to Walter Duranty’s New York Times article in this way because his perspective challenges her understanding of the truth. According to Duranty, her family and people in Ukraine aren’t starving to death. This idea upsets Helen because she believes the world’s most renowned newspaper is spreading lies and therefore endangering her family. This passage also inspires Helen’s newfound investment in writing and journalism.

“It’s worse now in some ways, but there’s always been pressure on reporters to tell certain stories and not others. It’s even harder when you’re a journalist reporting on a government that doesn’t believe in a free press. Those few reporters reporting the truth about the famine had to be really brave. History proved them right, but it took time and enough people speaking up and saying ‘Yea, that is what happened. That is the truth.’”

Matthew’s dad acts as Matthew’s archetypal guide throughout the novel. Matthew calls his dad for help and advice whenever he feels confused. He respects his dad’s expertise and knowledge and therefore relies upon him to understand his familial, personal, and national histories.

“I wanted to say, Home with me. But I couldn’t. Papa would throw her back out, and Dasha might give her a few scraps, but she’d never dare cross Papa and help her more than that. I couldn’t bring her to Katya or any of my other friends in the Pioneers. They would suspect she was a kulak or some other class enemy and report the whole episode to Papa. Where could I take her? In all my life, I had never felt so helpless. A sheen of cold sweat broke onto my temple. If Nadiya walked away, I knew I’d never see her again or find out who she really was. I pictured her being carried out of the Collector under a sheet.”

Anna’s character offers both Mila and Nadiya safety when they are in trouble. Mila takes Nadiya to Anna because she is the only person that she can trust. Her entire world feels hostile to her as soon as she starts to learn the truth about the widespread crisis her country and people are facing. Anna therefore becomes a refuge for Mila and her cousin.

“She nodded, but the fear was still in her eyes. She didn’t trust me, didn’t trust that I wouldn’t tell Papa. No wonder I didn’t know what was really happening. How many people had silenced themselves when I came into a room? How many people had I frightened simply by being Papa’s daughter? I was a monster without even knowing it.”

Mila’s relationship with Anna begins to change how she sees and understands herself. She loves and trusts her piano teacher but realizes that Anna sees her as a foolish and dangerous little girl because of her father’s social status. This moment marks a turning point in Mila’s storyline and character arc.

“Before I could stop myself, I grabbed the notebook, opened it to a blank page, and scribbled: I hate Mom!!! I want to live with Dad! It felt good for about two seconds, but then I remembered I needed to find the stupid problem set, I had no idea when I was going to get my Switch back, and I couldn’t even see Dad until the summer. At least I had GG’s story, but like everything else in my life, it was a mess. Somehow GG had made it to Brooklyn and Helen, who wanted to help her, but then GG hadn’t even kept in touch with Helen. What had happened between them?”

Matthew becomes reliant upon his notebook to navigate his increasingly challenging circumstances. This passage conveys how much Matthew uses the notebook, and the wide array of emotions and information he feels comfortable recording inside of it. At the same time, this moment illustrates how the notebook is teaching Matthew about the interconnection between his, GG’s, Helen’s, and Nadiya’s stories, highlighting The Impact of the Past on the Present.

“Papa had been right: Nadiya’s family were kulaks. But instead of feeling reassured that they had nothing to do with us, I had a chilling thought: What if Papa had known this because Nadiya’s kulak family was his family? this would mean that Papa was a kulak, too. But Papa hated kulaks. He couldn’t be one of them.”

Mila’s relationship with Nadiya changes her understanding of herself. Before meeting Nadiya, Mila demonized kulaks because her father taught her the wealthy peasants were greedy, lazy liars. In this passage, Mila realizes that her father is wrong and that her family are, in fact, kulaks, too. The revelation marks another turning point in Mila’s character arc as she begins to discover the truth of her origins.

“But this Easter, my thoughts kept returning to what Mom had said. Had I been troubling people and making them sad? I hated to think so. Was it better to put those stories away and hope that someday God lets the truth come to light? As the deep bass of the priest’s voice rattled through me, I tried to listen for an answer. All I could hear was the lack of one. This was what the church taught: Life was full of suffering but also moments of beauty like this one. It was a mystery we’d never understand.”

The Easter mass gives Helen the time and space to reflect on her internal and external challenges. She wants to obey her mother and be respectful of her community’s feelings. However, Helen is also realizing that she has a mind of her own and that she can create change by listening to, recording, and sharing her people’s stories.

“Nadiya waved away my apology. ‘You helped me, even before you believed me. You’re a good person, Mila. One I’m glad to know.’ With this, she kissed my cheek. It was at that moment I swore I would protect her till my dying day.”

Nadiya’s graciousness transforms Mila’s character. Nadiya knows her own mind and never lets Mila discount her experiences. However, Nadiya is also gentle and forgiving. These character traits endear her to Mila and strengthen the girls’ bond: a connection which ultimately changes both of their lives.

“Soodba. I had known the Russian word for fate for as long as I could remember because Mom and her friends used it so often. When something awful happened to someone, it was soodba. You couldn’t fight it. you just had to accept it. But people in America weren’t like that—they didn’t accept the way things were; they tried to change them. I was an American.”

Helen’s American identity emboldens her and gives her the courage to fight for what she believes in. Helen has learned to value her Ukrainian and Russian roots, but remains protective of her American experience, too. By valuing these various parts of her cultural identity, Helen is able to pursue truth and understanding without fear.

“Nadiya fell silent. I knew I should say something to her, some words of comfort, but what? The horror of her story overwhelmed me. I could only think of Papa’s role and her mother’s misplaced faith that he would help her. ‘My father’s a liar and a coward! He and Stalin and the whole Party!’”

Hearing Nadiya’s family story changes how Mila understands her family story, highlighting How Family Stories Shape Identity. Mila has historically accepted Papa’s version of truth as fact. However, Nadiya’s version of events challenges Mila’s understanding of reality and changes her regard for her father. 

“‘You are a kulak! The son of kulaks! Nadiya’s your niece, your flesh and blood. She likes stories and chocolates, like me. She just wants to survive!’ I fell to my knees before him, clasped my hands. ‘Please, Papa, you have to save her and help Anna Mikhailovna! Please, it’s the only thing I ask. I’ll forgive you everything!’”

Mila’s bold, declarative use of language conveys the depth of her emotions in this scene. Mila is confronting her father for the first time in the novel, and thus asking him to be honest with her. This moment marks a pivotal shift in Mila’s understanding of herself. 

“Siblings were allowed to stay together, and when Nadiya introduced me as her sister, our shared last name and resemblance were proof enough for the matron in charge. As we carried bundles of dirty sheets down to the laundry in the basement, Nadiya explained that if the staff believed we were sisters, we were also less likely to be separated and sent off to different orphanages. ‘We have to stay together, no matter what.’”

Mila and Nadiya’s relationship helps them to withstand hardship. Nadiya ultimately dies in the Collector. However, the bond that she and Mila share fortifies Mila’s spirit and grants her the courage to start a new life for both her and her cousin.

“I leapt out of my chair with a shout of joy and threw my arms around Pop. We had done it! We had saved Nadiya! I felt him exhale, as if he’d been holding his breath for a long time. His head sank into his hand. ‘Thank God,’ he murmured.”

Helen’s response to the lawyer’s news about Nadiya conveys her investment in her family’s story. She loves and cares about Nadiya even before she meets her because she is an empathetic person who understands the importance of familial connection and support.

“GG’s terrible secret didn’t just change her life. Her terrible secret was that she had changed her life! Before I could stop myself, a couple of not exactly Mom-approved words popped out of my mouth. I expected GG to frown or shake her finger, but her watery eyes crinkled with amusement. For a fleeting second, I saw mischievous young Mila staring back at me.”

Matthew’s response to GG’s revelation proves how his character has changed. Matthew doesn’t judge GG for concealing her true identity and instead sees it as a sign of her strength. His perspective illustrates how much he has grown up since the start of the novel.

“On the way out of the canteen, I passed the poster of Stalin the sea captain, steering our great nation to victory. He was still looking away from me, from all the people whose lives he’d destroyed. He deserved no goodbye. He loved being in control of that ship more than he ever cared about its passengers. I was glad to chart a different path, to sail away from his grasp. If only there hadn’t been such a price. But the ghosts of Papa and Nadiya agreed. I had to abandon myself to survive.”

By assuming Nadiya’s identity, Mila sets herself free. But Mila will hide this truth from everyone until she tells Matthew her story in 2020. By pretending to be Nadiya, Mila is leaving her tragic memories behind and preserving her cousin’s memory. It is also the only way she can deal with the trauma she’s experienced. The image of Stalin as a sea captain foreshadows Mila’s journey across the sea to the US.

“She was crying even harder now, reminding me of the first time I’d shown her that photo of the two girls. But this time, I understood where all that sadness was coming from. This time, I was crying, too. I thought about everything she had seen and lived through, everything she’d survived. Would I have ever been able to get through losing the only parent I’d ever known, then my cousin, then hiding my true identity for nearly ninety years?”

GG’s story grants Matthew perspective on his life and identity. Before he knew about GG’s past, Matthew often had a negative and immature outlook on his circumstances. However, he realizes that he is capable and privileged once he understands all that GG lived through. This highlights The Impact of the Past on the Present.