Armenian Genocide Remembered in Fiction (Part 2)

Every man’s memory is his private literature.- Aldous Huxley

There was a timeliness to selecting a title about the Armenian genocide for a book group I work with. April, 24 2015 was the date selected to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the start of this horrible period. I suggested Chris Bohjalian’s, The Sandcastle Girls (see post Part 1) or Aline Ohanesian’s, Orhan’s Inheritance. To prepare to lead the conversation, I chose to read them both and came away with a far richer understanding of the multifaceted aspects of this tragedy than I would have if I’d only read one. Whichever you choose, your view of history will be changed.

IN A NUTSHELL

• Orhan’s Inheritance by Aline Ohanesian (Algonquin Books, 2015)
• In 40 words or less: Dialog and detailed descriptions provide personal views of the Armenian genocide and war against the British through the eyes of a young girl and a conscripted Turkish boy whose families long-lived side by side.
• Genre: Historical Fiction
• Locale: Ottoman Empire, California
• Time: 1915-23 and 1990
• Read this to gain an understanding of the complexities of life when neighbors were pitted against neighbor. Using her grandmother’s recollections as a starting point for her novel, Ohanesian writes of love, loss, inhumanity and compassion.

This spring’s title, Orhan’s Inheritance, brings an entirely different perspective to the telling about the Armenian genocide.  Aline Ohanesian’s novel tells of two families: an Armenian family  whose men were taken from their home and killed, the mother and children sent on a death march; and the family of a Turkish youth who had worked for the Armenian family and hoped to save them. Taking place over several years beginning in 1915 and then in 1990, Ohanesian provides a first person perspective for each of her main characters.

Kemal, a prosperous Turkish manufacturer of rugs and supplier of dyed yarns, dies. At the reading of the will his business interests are left to his grandson, Orhan, a small gift to his son, and the large family home is left to a woman named Seda, who lives in California. Orhan’s father threatens to break the will unless, at a minimum, Orhan can secure a release from Seda to allow him and his aunt to remain in the home.

As a teen, Kemal worked for the Armenian family that dyed wools and wove kilms. An artistic and sensitive person, he was grateful for the instruction and attention the family showered on him.  He also had a crush on the daughter, Lucine, and would do anything to make sure no harm befell her.

Orhan was disaffected from the traditional life and business from a run-in with the Turkish police over photographs he had taken. After several days in a cell, Kemal managed to free him and get him out of the country until things settled down. As a result he questioned the motives of the police. His loyalty to his grandfather was his greatest incentive to seek out Seda.

Through much of the book we follow Lucine’s exhaustive trek from the north, roughly following the path of the Euphrates. Seeing the experience through Lucine’s eyes is devastating as she is faced with horrible choices in her struggle for survival.

In California in 1990, Orhan finds Seda in a nursing home for Armenian survivors. Seda’s niece is an activist, working to secure acknowledgement of the atrocities committed by the Turks. Seda and Orhan gradually learn to trust and learn about each other in order to understand the true inheritance.

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