Before World War II, before Hitler's rabid anti-Semitism, before Auschwitz, before the horrors of the Holocaust - there was the Slaughter You Know Next to Nothing About. Next to nothing? I was appalled to read about this genocide that I literally knew nothing about - although the deportation and massacre of about a million and a half Armenian civilians is still officially not known as 'genocide'.
'The Sandcastle Girls' written by Chris Bohjalian is first and foremost the story of the atrocities inflicted on the Armenian population of Turkey by the Pashas of the Young Turk regime. Using the First World War as an excuse, claiming that the Armenians were traitors supporting Russia - the ethnic cleansing commenced. While the men were simply executed, the women and children were 'resettled' in the Syrian desert for their 'protection'. The Germans, needing Turkey as an ally, simply turned a blind eye - besides this destruction was considered to be more of a fallout from the war, a collateral damage rather than the genocide it really was!
It is the story of Elizabeth Endicott, daughter of respected Boston banker, Silas Endicott, who travels to Aleppo in Syria as part of an aid mission. From her sheltered world, she is suddenly plunged into a hot dusty inferno of slaughter, starvation and disease. Tending to the deportees in Aleppo, who are waiting to be transported to the 'resettlement camps', Elizabeth befriends Nevart and Hatoun. She eventually offers them a home with her in the American compound, saving them from a certain death in the desert camps. She also meets and falls deeply in love with Armen Petrosian, an Armenian engineer employed by the German army to help build railroads. Armen has lost most of his family already, and is in Aleppo in a desperate bid to find his wife and daughter among the the deportees.
Skipping ahead 2 generations, it is the story of Laura Petrosian, who is writing about her grandparents' extraordinary history. Through letters that they wrote to each other, and Elizabeth's journals, she traces her Armenian ancestry - and what starts of as a good idea for a book, quickly evolves into a deeply personal journey to document a moment in history that has been all but forgotten by the rest of the world. The book moves fluidly between 1915 and present day, between Elizabeth and Laura, - but the Armenian genocide is a constant presence throughout.
This is the kind of book that I would stay awake all night to read. Of course, it is very clear that Elizabeth and Armen do build a life for themselves, far away from the horrors of war - but how they get there is what makes the book so good. The fictional characters blend seamlessly into the true history. The descriptions of the deportees, of the horrors they have to face, the grisly war scenes are really graphic - I was desperately hoping for this book to end on a positive note. And it is a bitter sweet ending of sorts when Laura meets Hatoun's granddaughter - proof that life goes on, come what may!!
'The Sandcastle Girls' written by Chris Bohjalian is first and foremost the story of the atrocities inflicted on the Armenian population of Turkey by the Pashas of the Young Turk regime. Using the First World War as an excuse, claiming that the Armenians were traitors supporting Russia - the ethnic cleansing commenced. While the men were simply executed, the women and children were 'resettled' in the Syrian desert for their 'protection'. The Germans, needing Turkey as an ally, simply turned a blind eye - besides this destruction was considered to be more of a fallout from the war, a collateral damage rather than the genocide it really was!
It is the story of Elizabeth Endicott, daughter of respected Boston banker, Silas Endicott, who travels to Aleppo in Syria as part of an aid mission. From her sheltered world, she is suddenly plunged into a hot dusty inferno of slaughter, starvation and disease. Tending to the deportees in Aleppo, who are waiting to be transported to the 'resettlement camps', Elizabeth befriends Nevart and Hatoun. She eventually offers them a home with her in the American compound, saving them from a certain death in the desert camps. She also meets and falls deeply in love with Armen Petrosian, an Armenian engineer employed by the German army to help build railroads. Armen has lost most of his family already, and is in Aleppo in a desperate bid to find his wife and daughter among the the deportees.
Skipping ahead 2 generations, it is the story of Laura Petrosian, who is writing about her grandparents' extraordinary history. Through letters that they wrote to each other, and Elizabeth's journals, she traces her Armenian ancestry - and what starts of as a good idea for a book, quickly evolves into a deeply personal journey to document a moment in history that has been all but forgotten by the rest of the world. The book moves fluidly between 1915 and present day, between Elizabeth and Laura, - but the Armenian genocide is a constant presence throughout.
This is the kind of book that I would stay awake all night to read. Of course, it is very clear that Elizabeth and Armen do build a life for themselves, far away from the horrors of war - but how they get there is what makes the book so good. The fictional characters blend seamlessly into the true history. The descriptions of the deportees, of the horrors they have to face, the grisly war scenes are really graphic - I was desperately hoping for this book to end on a positive note. And it is a bitter sweet ending of sorts when Laura meets Hatoun's granddaughter - proof that life goes on, come what may!!
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