March 16, 2020
In Abgaryan’s grim, fantastical debut, the dwindling residents of a tiny Armenian mountain village look back on a series of disasters—drought, famine, a massive earthquake—and find strength in supernatural visions. Anatolia, at age 58, is the youngest of the town’s 50 residents, the others having perished in the series of disasters or fled. Having survived a childless marriage after the death of her abusive husband, Anatolia believes she’s dying because she’s suffering intense vaginal bleeding. After the bleeding subsides and Anatolia recovers, the widowed village blacksmith, Vasily, convinces Anatolia to marry him. Grief, beliefs, and comforting customs, such as receiving visions and responding to dream interpretations, unite the villagers, and Abgaryan grounds the book’s magical details by showing their power over the characters (“the Maranians were a rational superstitious people who nevertheless believed in dreams and signs”), such as an auspicious appearance of a peacock after the birth of a child, and the surprising explanation for Anatolia’s bleeding. Abgaryan impresses with finely phrased descriptions of daily activities and homes with “chimneys that clung to the hem of the sky,” and indelible details of complex, humble characters. This magical tale transcends familiar mystical tropes with its fresh reimagining of Armenian folklore.
May 1, 2020
Maran, an isolated village high in the Armenian mountains, exists seemingly outside of time. The young have been lost to war and pestilence or the lure of the modern city in the valley, reachable only via a treacherous mountain road. Aging residents?the youngest is Anatolia, a 58-year-old widow?live according to old rhythms, traditions, and superstitions. Abgaryan weaves a fable from the curious and cursed histories of the Maranians who remain, pulling the seen and unseen threads that connect everyone. Anatolia, beset by mysterious and debilitating bleeding, lies down to die, but her neighbor and a suitor intrude on her plan. Tigran, a beloved grandson of another family, who was watched over at birth by a regal white peacock, returns decades later and the magic of the village manifests itself. In another strange instance, the larger world follows an astonishing development in Anatolia's life. Readers who enjoy paeans to life lived at a slower pace will be charmed by Abgaryan's hopeful, wondrous tale of people who find support in each other and cherish intimate connections with the past.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)