Nothing is Forgotten: A Novel by Peter Golden

Atria Books – April 2018

*Advanced Reader Copy provided by TLC Book Tours & the author*

Let’s keep this historical fiction train chugging! We’re back with another blog tour from the folks at TLC Blog Tours!

Moving away from WWII era settings, Peter Golden’s Nothing is Forgotten tackles the postwar era. The books opens in 1950s New Jersey where Michael Daniels (a.k.a. Misha Danielov) grows ups with a doting Russian grandmother. Emma, his grandmother, runs the local candy store and may or may not have connections with underground dealings. She’s beloved in her community and most off all by Michael. Emma is his rock until one day he discovers her shot – dead – in the candy store. Meanwhile, Michael comes of age in the early 1960s becoming a local celebrity with his radio show and “Mad Russian” comedy bit. Reeling from his grandmother’s death, Michael seeks to discover her murderer and Emma’s shadowy past and takes on a radio assignment in Europe. Half a world away, Yulianna Kosoy —a war orphan in her mid-twenties— sneaks American goods into the country and discovers information with her boss and foster father, Der Schmuggler. The novel ultimately weaves together these threads into a mesmerizing story of family history and how it’s often much more complicated that our childhood memories of familial affection.

As mentioned in previous posts I love historical fiction but the recent trends in WWII fiction has not always piqued by interest, so I like that this book is set in the aftermath of the Holocaust, Kennedy’s assasignation, and the USSR is ruled by Khrushchev and thus the iron control and Stalinist terror has lessened. I found the setting and context compelling because at times WWII American fiction can ad nauseam romanticize war or create a nostalgic image of a golden time in America.

Author Peter Golden

I enjoyed Golden’s writing style and every time I picked up the book I felt like I was being drawn into the story where nothing exists outside of what I’m reading. I love when that happens. Often we have part of our mind on reading, part on what’s going on around us, and part on our phones. When a book can capture my full attention, make me forget my phone, and erase the mundane, then I know a book is really worth sharing with others.

Overall, this is a great mix of historical fiction, mystery, and Cold War spy intrigue. I think fans of historical fiction novels such as those by Anita Diamant and Kristin Hannah will enjoy this!

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Follow the rest of the blog tour here:

Friday, March 15th: Lori’s Reading Corner – author guest post

Tuesday, March 19th: @oxfordjanebooks

Wednesday, March 20th: What is That Book About – author guest post

Thursday, March 21st: Bookish Bliss and Beauty

Monday, March 25th: Tar Heel Reader

Tuesday, March 26th: Jathan & Heather – author guest post

Wednesday, March 27th: Helen’s Book Blog

Friday, March 29th: Broken Teepee

Monday, April 1st: Book by Book

Wednesday, April 3rd: 5 Minutes for Books