From the beloved author of Comeback Love and Wherever There Is Light, comes “a sweeping tale full of humor and heartbreak” (Karin Tanabe, author of The Diplomat’s Daughter) about the life-changing journey of a young man who travels from New Jersey to Khrushchev’s Russia and the beaches of Southern France to discover long-hidden secrets about his heritage. In 1950s New Jersey, teacher Michael … In 1950s New Jersey, teacher Michael Daniels–or Misha Danielov to his doting Russian-Jewish grandmother–is at loose ends, until he becomes the host of a nightly underground radio show. Not only does the show become a local hit because of his running satires of USSR leader Nikita Khrushchev, but half a world away, it picks up listeners in a small Soviet city.
There, with rock and roll leaking in through bootlegged airwaves, Yulianna Kosoy–a war orphan in her mid-twenties–is sneaking American goods into the country with her boss, Der Schmuggler.
But just as Michael’s radio show is taking off, his grandmother is murdered. Why would anyone commit such an atrocity against such a warm, affable woman? She had always been secretive about her past and, as Michael discovers, guarded a shadowy ancestral history. In order to solve the mystery of who killed her, Michael sets out for Europe to learn where he–and his grandmother–really came from.
“Both heartbreaking and mesmerizing, Nothing Is Forgotten is the sort of book you won’t soon forget…Cold War Europe, lingering Nazi secrets, and the tragic history faced by millions of families not only bring this tale to life but will keep you turning the pages” (Lisa Wingate, New York Times bestselling author) and will appeal to fans of novels by Anita Diamant and Kristin Hannah.
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Favorite Quotes:
I shook my head, and he smiled a little sadly—the Russian smile, my grandmother called it, like a weak sun in a winter-gray sky.
Named for Mark Twain, whose loathing of Tsarist Russia endeared him to the party, the students spent half the day immersed in the government-blessed curriculum in Russian and the other half taking courses in English, all while a portrait of Vladimir Lenin, the founder of the Soviet state, stood guard on a wall of every classroom, glaring at the students as if accusing them of harboring the forbidden desire to own private property.
“He is a real magician, my father.” “A magician? Like he pulls rabbits out of hats?” “Like he makes vodka disappear.”
I had a new reaction. I imagined smashing the wine bottle over Stenka’s head. Visiting Dachau, I concluded, could make a Jew touchy.
Of course, almost everyone loves dead Jews. Jesus was a Jew, no? It is the live Jews who seem to bother people.
I feel like I wandered into the middle of a freakish play, and I can’t get off the stage.
My Review:
Peter Golden has created exceptionally compelling arrangements of words within these 353 pages. His beguiling selections of nouns, verbs, and adjectives were densely packed across two timelines and were highly intriguing, thoughtfully written, mysteriously emotive, poignantly insightful, spiritually devastating, yet highly compelling. His well-crafted storylines were lushly detailed and often held a weighty aura of melancholy, which resulted in a bruised and heavy heart, yet, oddly, I didn’t seem to mind. To deploy his own words out of reference, Mr. Golden is truly a “connoisseur of irony.” He sagely tucked in clever turns of mocking wit and deftly tossed in twists of levity with razor-sharp sarcasm, quips, and sardonic banter. His cunning use of humor felt like delightful treats and often erupted in the most expected of places.
This was not an easy book to slice through given the disquieting subject matter, a large cast of unusual and disturbing characters, frequent use of foreign words and names, and unfamiliar cultural references; all of which left me ever so thankful for the translator and Wikipedia function on my tablet. However, I assure you, this masterfully penned tale was well worth the effort. I feel humbly and gratefully enlightened while having gleaned considerable and relevant knowledge in an entertaining manner. Peter Golden has mad skills and a new fan.
NOTHING IS FORGOTTEN is currently in my top five favorite books of all time, joining A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY, SHE’S COME UNDONE, GONE WITH THE WIND, and MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA. At times, the book is a thriller, others a mystery, and still others, a romance, but at all times, it’s captivating, emotional, and incredibly well told. The story opens in Michael’s childhood and reads like a memoir until his grandmother is killed, and then it takes off like a thriller wrapped in a mystery as Michael tries to figure out who killed his grandmother and why. His search for the truth takes him to Europe and Russia where he meets and falls for Yuli, a smuggler and defacto spy. Together they seek clues about the death of Emma, which only raises more questions and puts them both in danger.
Plot
Impeccably researched, there is as much history as there is storytelling going on between the pages. The story is expertly plotted and moves along at a steady rate. The pace picks up speed at the climax and keeps it up until the very end. And that ending…wow. For me, it’s perfect. Yes, I want to know what happens next, but I don’t need to know. It’s such a satisfying conclusion with just the right amount of uncertainty to allow me to imagine what comes after without feeling frustrated.
The Characters
The characters are a masterpiece. Michael, Yuli, Der Schmuggler…they’re deep, nuanced, and intriguing. Throughout the story, Emma goes from being an enigma to someone fully fleshed out as the reader learns through Micheal’s research who Emma really was. The characters seem so much a part of the era (late 1950s to 1960s), that I never once questioned the setting.
Top Five Things I Loved About NOTHING IS FORGOTTEN
1. Yuli. She was by far my favorite character. She’s so complex, strong and vulnerable, proud with fits of guilt, having lived through the horrors of the second World War, she’s hard to identify with, but so easy to root for.
2. Michael. His optimistic Americanism is the polar opposite of Yuli’s Eastern European post-war hopelessness. His quest to uncover the truth is both reckless and admirable, making him an absolutely fascinating protagonist.
3. History. I love history, but even more when it serves as a backdrop to a compelling story. The author’s meticulous attention to detail made history come alive, leaving me wanting to learn more about the events of that time.
4. The ending. One of the best endings ever.
5. Storytelling. The way the story unfolds kept me glued to the pages, but the characters made me care about what happened.
Bottom Line
One of my all-time favorite novels. I will be reading more by Peter Golden.
Golden’s Nothing is Forgotten features a central metaphor of Russian nesting dolls to drive deeper and deeper to reveal a story that keeps surprising the reader with all that it is– a baffling murder mystery, a riveting historical novel, an espionage thriller with a dizzying cast of characters, a tragic family saga and, to top it off, a love story. This smorgasbord of interrelated plot points will certainly propel you through the pages, but as the novel crosses genres it also unfolds as a story of surprising charm and affection. I’m amazed at Golden’s skill in using love stories featuring open-hearted men entranced with complex women to ground his fresh takes on war-based stories we think we know– from the Vietnam of Comeback Love to the World War II of Wherever There is Light and now the dual Cold War and Holocaust setting of Nothing is Forgotten. Golden is an historian, an edge-of-your seat storyteller and an optimistic romantic. The combination ensures you will not know where to put your bookmark as you read into the night
Well written coming of age story set in NJ while coming to terms with the aftermath of the Impact of the Nazi terror on his family. Moving, haunting, intriguing and entertaining.
I enjoyed this story and learned a lot reading it. I did find myself confused at points because their were so many people to follow, so many foreign names. I had to go back and find the origin of some people in the story. I do recommend it.
It is something when you live your whole life and something happens to change the truth you thought you knew. Good story.
Nice rehash of an oft hashed topic: Nazi death camp fallout. But this has a nice Cold War twist with great characters, adventures, intrigue, and young love.