This large-scale novel by two writers, one of Armenian descent and
the other a Quebecois novelist, is justly subtitled 'An Armenian
Epic'. It is based on the true events of the cruel Ottoman
persecutions and massacres of Christian Armenians who lived in
Anatolia, the Turkish part of the divided ancient kingdom of
Armenia. In attempts to exterminate the minority, it is believed
800,000 people died in 1915 alone, the period in which the novel is
set. This foreshadowing of similar devastating events later in the
century is very little known in the West. The authors have chosen
to use the power of fiction to focus on an individual character,
Vartan Balian, and his family, in order to bring unfamiliar history
to vibrant life. The story opens the day after a deportation order
is issued for all the Armenians living in the provincial town of
Sivas. Varten, a dissident pharmacist serving in the Ottoman army,
has written passionate articles on the Armenian plight which have
earned him powerful Turkish enemies. His beloved wife Maro is very
fearful, in spite of Vartan's reassurances. He is unable to escape
arrest and torture, and she and their six-year-old son are forced
to leave their town by ox-cart, journeying with all the other
Armenian deportees to an unknown and rightly dreaded fate. She is
rescued by Riza Bey, one of the most complex and interesting
characters in this book. The lovingly detailed descriptions of
daily living, places and atmospheres, and the in-depth treatment of
a huge cast of relatives, friends like the Turkish army officer
Ibrahim, and enemies, especially the odious government official
Gani Bey, make the unfolding saga rather slow-moving, but create a
dense textural background for the separate trials and sufferings of
Varta, Maro and their son. The real heroes, who show courage in
disaster and survival, are the Armenian people. (Kirkus UK)
Through the epic story of the Balian family, this work recounts the
tragic fate and struggle for survival of the Armenian people during
World War I. Vartan Balian scours the Turkish empire in search of
his wife Maro and their son, both deported from ancestral lands
with tens of thousands of compatriots. Maro and her son manage to
escape the ongoing genocide and find shelter in Riza Bey, a wealthy
Turkish governor who falls deeply in love with Maro. Almost four
years will pass before Vartan and Maro are reunited. Can they
overcome the bitterness and doubts of survival and forget each
others' intervening relationships: hers with Riza Bey and his with
the passionate Aroussiag, who saved him from certain death at the
risk of her own life? And what of their son Tomas, who mysteriously
disappeared from Riza Bey's home. If he ever returns, would they
want him to find safety in a free Armenia - still a dream to them -
or in a new life far away in America?
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