jellybeyreads reviewed Orhan's inheritance by Aline Ohanesian
Review of "Orhan's inheritance" on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
thoughts in no particular order:
1. Is this REALLY the first (fiction) book I've ever read about the Armenian genocide? From elementary school on, I've read dozens of novels about the Holocaust and WWII. It really should be a larger part of our (inter)national consciousness.
2. The contemporary Turkish young man feels like he exists only to play devil's advocate, but it's done clumsily; this subplot isn't complex enough to prevent it being a forgone conclusion that he's going to learn his lesson about Armenian history and go back to turkey an evangelist. And unfortunately, THAT story is not particularly interesting.
3. Holy LeBron, we humans do terrible, terrible things to each other. Perhaps the most resonant part of this book is the characters who, one after another, lose their faith in god as they encounter/undergo/perpetrate yet more atrocities. It is a testament to the strength of our will to …
thoughts in no particular order:
1. Is this REALLY the first (fiction) book I've ever read about the Armenian genocide? From elementary school on, I've read dozens of novels about the Holocaust and WWII. It really should be a larger part of our (inter)national consciousness.
2. The contemporary Turkish young man feels like he exists only to play devil's advocate, but it's done clumsily; this subplot isn't complex enough to prevent it being a forgone conclusion that he's going to learn his lesson about Armenian history and go back to turkey an evangelist. And unfortunately, THAT story is not particularly interesting.
3. Holy LeBron, we humans do terrible, terrible things to each other. Perhaps the most resonant part of this book is the characters who, one after another, lose their faith in god as they encounter/undergo/perpetrate yet more atrocities. It is a testament to the strength of our will to survive that the characters of this book--and the millions of real people for whom they are stand-ins--don't just lay down, refuse to suffer any more than they already have, and die. I have a hard time imagining I would do anything else.
4. This novel has good bones--good plot, good characters. But the prose is overwrought and I found that distracting, and not everything is explored in the depth I would like. Where is the history of Armenians in turkey? More detail about the Young Turks and the new constitution? The awkward alliance with Germany in WWI? ANYTHING about WWI? I think the reality is I wanted this book to be a history lesson in addition to a personal saga, but it is only the latter. I shouldn't fault it for that--it's good at being what it is. It's just not everything I want.