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'THE SANDCASTLE GIRLS' TACKLES ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Anchorage Daily News, Alaska
April 10 2013
By RICK BENTLEY - The Fresno Bee
"The Sandcastle Girls" by Chris Bohjalian; Doubleday ($25.95)Chris
Bohjalian wrote a novel 20 years ago based on the Armenian Genocide.
It was never published."It was a train wreck. Then I started thinking
why should I write a book about the Armenian Genocide when there
were so many good ones already, including 'Rise the Euphrates'
by Carol Edgarian," says Bohjalian. "The manuscript now resides in
the archives of my alma mater."The Amherst College graduate went on
to write 11 other books - including his best known work "Midwives" -
before finally getting back to the subject with "The Sandcastle Girls"
(Doubleday, $25.95).The book was inspired by his grandparents - Leo
and Haigoohi - who survived the genocide of 1.5 million Armenians,
starting in 1915.It's that larger meaning that helped Bohjalian
write his novel, when his first effort failed. He was determined to
use the genocide as a backdrop, despite being told by people in the
publishing industry - fortunately not his editor - that a book like
"The Sandcastle Girls" would be a career killer. They said a lack of
knowledge of the killings outside the Armenian community would make
the book a tough sell.He proved them wrong by telling two stories -
one about lovers who meet in Syria during the genocide and the other
about their granddaughter's efforts a century later to understand why
they were so silent about their youth.The author's own grandparents
never talked about what happened during that brutal period. Bohjalian
was able to get a lot of information from his father, Aram, who also
didn't talk about the genocide when the author was young.When Aram's
health began to deteriorate in 2009, father and son spent a lot of
time looking at old family photographs that sparked conversations
about the family. "The Sandcastle Girls" is dedicated to Aram, and
Bohjalian's mother-in-law, Sondra Blewer, who both died in 2011.This
information helped the author write the opposite of a "train wreck."
The book - which could become a feature film - has earned high praise,
including being selected as an Oprah Winfrey Book of the Week."I
have written so many books that were successful, where people thought
they were crazy ideas. When I started writing a book about midwives,
I was told no one outside of New England would know what I was talking
about," says Bohjalian.He was glad that he didn't let the critics
stop him. "The Sandcastle Girls" has been an educational tool for many
readers. There are thousands of comments on Bohjalian's Facebook page
from people who had no knowledge of the genocide until reading about
it in his book."Because so many people outside the Armenian community
hadn't heard about the genocide, I was determined to get it right when
I started this book," says Bohjalian.He is also determined to talk
about the book as often as possible. The trips give him a chance to
thank the members of the Armenian community who have embraced the book.
http://www.adn.com/2013/04/10/2858943/the-sandcastle-girls-tackles-armenian.html
Anchorage Daily News, Alaska
April 10 2013
By RICK BENTLEY - The Fresno Bee
"The Sandcastle Girls" by Chris Bohjalian; Doubleday ($25.95)Chris
Bohjalian wrote a novel 20 years ago based on the Armenian Genocide.
It was never published."It was a train wreck. Then I started thinking
why should I write a book about the Armenian Genocide when there
were so many good ones already, including 'Rise the Euphrates'
by Carol Edgarian," says Bohjalian. "The manuscript now resides in
the archives of my alma mater."The Amherst College graduate went on
to write 11 other books - including his best known work "Midwives" -
before finally getting back to the subject with "The Sandcastle Girls"
(Doubleday, $25.95).The book was inspired by his grandparents - Leo
and Haigoohi - who survived the genocide of 1.5 million Armenians,
starting in 1915.It's that larger meaning that helped Bohjalian
write his novel, when his first effort failed. He was determined to
use the genocide as a backdrop, despite being told by people in the
publishing industry - fortunately not his editor - that a book like
"The Sandcastle Girls" would be a career killer. They said a lack of
knowledge of the killings outside the Armenian community would make
the book a tough sell.He proved them wrong by telling two stories -
one about lovers who meet in Syria during the genocide and the other
about their granddaughter's efforts a century later to understand why
they were so silent about their youth.The author's own grandparents
never talked about what happened during that brutal period. Bohjalian
was able to get a lot of information from his father, Aram, who also
didn't talk about the genocide when the author was young.When Aram's
health began to deteriorate in 2009, father and son spent a lot of
time looking at old family photographs that sparked conversations
about the family. "The Sandcastle Girls" is dedicated to Aram, and
Bohjalian's mother-in-law, Sondra Blewer, who both died in 2011.This
information helped the author write the opposite of a "train wreck."
The book - which could become a feature film - has earned high praise,
including being selected as an Oprah Winfrey Book of the Week."I
have written so many books that were successful, where people thought
they were crazy ideas. When I started writing a book about midwives,
I was told no one outside of New England would know what I was talking
about," says Bohjalian.He was glad that he didn't let the critics
stop him. "The Sandcastle Girls" has been an educational tool for many
readers. There are thousands of comments on Bohjalian's Facebook page
from people who had no knowledge of the genocide until reading about
it in his book."Because so many people outside the Armenian community
hadn't heard about the genocide, I was determined to get it right when
I started this book," says Bohjalian.He is also determined to talk
about the book as often as possible. The trips give him a chance to
thank the members of the Armenian community who have embraced the book.
http://www.adn.com/2013/04/10/2858943/the-sandcastle-girls-tackles-armenian.html