I'll probably never go to Istanbul in spite of it being a very enticing destination; my husband's Armenian heritage isn't compatible with Turkish politics or revisionist history. However, I was very pleased to read and review Nektaria Anastasiadou's new novel
A population exchange? The two responses to it you describe seem predictable, but the zeitgeist that would dream up and permit such a strategy sounds both fascinating and foreboding. I enjoyed your strong research and your in-laws' personal ties to the region; both give your review an authority I respect in longer reviews and other conversations around books.
I read your review in Cha. Outstanding! It gave me a full picture of the novel and its cultural setting. I was ready to buy it, but your final paragraph changed my mind. I, like you, would prefer a Tolstoian multi-generational epic rather than what appears to be an American take on a quaint miniature of an ancient society that would do very well on an American food channel. I might still buy it, if only to encourage this writer or another writer to give us that Tolstoian epic. I nominate you! You are a magnificent writer in your own right. You capture the spirit and history of every place you write about! I totally enjoyed reading your review. Keep writing, Beth!
A population exchange? The two responses to it you describe seem predictable, but the zeitgeist that would dream up and permit such a strategy sounds both fascinating and foreboding. I enjoyed your strong research and your in-laws' personal ties to the region; both give your review an authority I respect in longer reviews and other conversations around books.
I read your review in Cha. Outstanding! It gave me a full picture of the novel and its cultural setting. I was ready to buy it, but your final paragraph changed my mind. I, like you, would prefer a Tolstoian multi-generational epic rather than what appears to be an American take on a quaint miniature of an ancient society that would do very well on an American food channel. I might still buy it, if only to encourage this writer or another writer to give us that Tolstoian epic. I nominate you! You are a magnificent writer in your own right. You capture the spirit and history of every place you write about! I totally enjoyed reading your review. Keep writing, Beth!