Family of Shadows: A Century of Murder, Memory, and the Armenian American Dream - Softcover

Hovannisian, Garin K.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0061792144 ISBN 13: 9780061792144

Publisher: Harper Paperbacks, 2011

Synopsis

As a world war rages in Europe in 1915, Ottoman authorities commence on the eastern frontier of their empire, the systematic slaughter of 1.5 million Armenians - the first genocide of the 20th century. A teenage boy named Kaspar Hovannisian is one among a generation of Armenians who survives the murder of their families and ancestral homeland, and escape to new destinies in the United States. Kaspar follows the American Dream to the San Joaquin Valley of California, where he amasses an agricultural and real estate empire. But memories of his homeland burn strong - a legacy of love, sorrow, and faith in salvation. Kaspar's son Richard leaves the family farm determined to protect the history of a lost nation against the forces of time and denial. He helps pioneer the field of Armenian Studies in the United States and becomes a world authority on genocide. Kaspar's grandson Raffi is himself haunted by memory, but he is also inspired in 1989 to leave his law firm in Los Angeles and to stage the unprecedented act of repatriation to Soviet Armenia, where he plays a historic role in a difficult, but independent, new republic. Now, in a moving book that is part investigative memoir and part history of the Armernian diaspora, Garin Hovannisian tells his family's story - a tale of tragedy, memory, and redemption which illuminates the long shadows that history casts on the lives of men.

About this title

Review:

“Garin Hovannisian brings a historian’s rigor, a poet’s lyricism, and a native son’s passion to this remarkable book. Intimate as memoir yet expansive as an epic, Family of Shadows puts the Armenian experience, in all its tragedy and triumph, into memorably human terms.” (Samuel G. Freedman, author of Who She Was: My Search for My Mother’s Life)

“Weaving together history, culture, and original reporting, Family of Shadows is an inspired tribute, full of passion and appreciation for the genealogy of the Hovannisian family and its transformation into an American success story.” (Dr. Vartan Gregorian, President of Carnegie Corporation of New York and author of The Road to Home: My Life and Times)

With what one can only describe as an artistic skill, Garin Hovannisian interleaves the micro-story of his resilient family with the macro-narrative of the Armenian Genocide. One swiftly learns to appreciate the true meaning of the word ‘indestructible’. (Christopher Hitchens, author of Hitch-22: A Memoir)

“Garin Hovannisian tells one of modern history’s great unexamined stories. Whether you are an Armenian American like me or come to this story anew, Family of Shadows will move you with the intensity and intimacy of its detail.” (David Ignatius, columnist for The Washington Post and author of Body of Lies)

“Hovannisian narratives in a swift, novel-like style... Cultural history and memoir gracefully entwined.” (Kirkus Reviews)

From the Back Cover:

As a world war rages through Europe in 1915, Ottoman authorities commence the systematic slaughter of 1.5 million Armenians—the first genocide of modern history. Alone, a teenage boy named Kaspar Hovannisian escapes the ruins of his ancestral homeland to pursue the American dream. In the San Joaquin Valley of California, he cultivates a small farm and invests in real estate. But memories of Armenia burn strong—a complicated legacy of love, anguish, and faith in a national rebirth.

Kaspar’s son, Richard, leaves the family farm and helps pioneer the field of Armenian studies in the United States, becoming a worldwide authority on genocide. Richard’s son, Raffi, is also haunted—and inspired—by the past. In 1989, he leaves his law firm in Los Angeles to stage the original act of repatriation to Soviet Armenia, where he goes on to play an historic role in the creation of a new republic.

Part investigative family memoir and part history of the Armenian people, Garin K. Hovannisian’s Family of Shadows is a breathtaking saga of tragedy, memory, and redemption that illuminates the long shadows that history casts on the lives of men.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0061792144
• ISBN 13: 9780061792144
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320