Book Club

[Siggie]

Re: Book Club

There's also this new release by Garin Hovanisian called Family of Shadows:A Century of Murder, Memory, and the Armenian American Dream

[KanadaHye]

Re: Book Club

There's also this new release by Garin Hovanisian called Family of Shadows:A Century of Murder, Memory, and the Armenian American Dream

Good Review...

I just got this book yesterday and have already read it twice. I couldn't put it down - not even after the last page. I've been trying to figure out why this is.

The story itself -- spanning the horrific genocide, magnificent renewal, and dangerous future of a family and a people -- is urgent and dramatic enough (though not always in the ways one might expect). It is the story of a nation told through the lives of three significant individuals from three generations, and the many fascinating characters who surround them. As in the Old Testament, you never know which little detail of place or person contains the secret to the scene. As in all great drama, you never know what is really tragedy and what is really triumph, where is really hope and where is despair. Beauty is the only certain outcome of these episodes.

But Family of Shadows is more than just a dramatic narrative or an important "investigative memoir" (the book's primary label). What Garin Hovannisian accomplishes here is unlike anything I have ever read before. He has given us a history of the present. He has rescued history from the past -- where it so often dusts and dies -- and brought it into full, utterly vital life, showing it in the making by heroes who feel deeply, think strongly, and act as if action mattered, transcending their place and destiny by staking their all to the highest altitude of their imagination. A living history like this can't be ignored. Who in its light can pretend that life and death have no meaning?

To me, the most impressive effect of this book is perhaps completely unintended. In describing the quest of those who sought to rescue the hopes, homes, and dreams of their ancestors, Hovannisian has managed to rescue the American Dream itself from the layers of cynicism and fatigue that form its cultural tombstone in our time. Family of Shadows is a wake-up call to would-be dreamers everywhere. Once its song enters your mind it will not be likely to leave -- even after you finally put the book down.

[Siggie]

Re: Book Club

Thanks for the review Kanada.


Araaaaaaaa.... I thought you were working on a list. Where are you?

[ara87]

Re: Book Club

Thanks for the review Kanada.


Araaaaaaaa.... I thought you were working on a list. Where are you?

oh, sorry, I was, but then the site went down and I had no idea if it'd be back up so I didn't bother coming up with one :-|


but that's ok, I'm fine reading any of the books previously mentioned

[Anonymouse]

Re: Book Club

I'm down for Brothers Karamazov. It's a daunting read though so I need time to purchase the book.

[gkv]

Re: Book Club

I'm down for Brothers Karamazov. It's a daunting read though so I need time to purchase the book.

maybe you should read the idiot first (or watch the tv series)

http://www.youtube.com/user/IgorRussland#p/c/ABCF9076EAF17CA2/0/7VPupwV_0SY

[Siggie]

Re: Book Club

Okay, we'll do Brothers Karamazov then. I am thinking we'll turn book club into a subforum here and then have subforums within for each book eventually. For now, we'll just create threads for a range of chapters or a range of pages (depending on book) in the book club forum til there's a second book. With several threads, while we can aim for a certain timeline, slower/busier readers can still comment and discuss without fear or spoilers. Sound good for all?

Okay, so we'll plan to start reading by Monday. Go get the book!


PS, Mouse, did you finish Lolita yet? I'm about halfway.

[One-Way]

Re: Book Club

I'm not in, in case anybody was wondering.

[Siggie]

Re: Book Club

Boo! You said you would be!

[One-Way]

Re: Book Club

Yeah, but I got an internship reading scripts and providing coverage on them, and it looks like it's going to be pretty overwhelming to balance alongside my schoolwork. If I add in the book club, I'll probably want to tear my eyes out from reading so much.