Kirkus Reviews (Print)
July 1, 2017, Saturday


CHOOSE TO RISE;
The Victory Within

FICTION; Historical


At the dawn of World War I, two brothers fight for survival in the
midst of the Armenian genocide in Mekaelian's debut novel. In 1971,
the Hagopian family gathers at a Chicago hospital after one of its
elders has a stroke. Vartan Hagopian is a professor in his 70s who
began his life in Armenia and now may end it in a hospital bed.

A doctor tells the family that Vartan called out for a girl named
Nadia during the attack that felled him. The name brings up painful
memories for his slightly younger brother, Armen, who decides to tell
the assembled family members the story of what he and his sibling
lived through years ago. The sweeping tale begins in 1913 on the
Hagopian family farm, located in the shadow of the Taurus Mountains
along the Euphrates River. With the sultan of the Ottoman Empire
deposed and the Young Turks in power, Armenians have been promised
more equality under the law. Armen's close-knit Armenian community
lives alongside Turks and Kurds in relative peace. The future looks
bright to teenage Armen and Vartan, who spend their evenings gazing at
constellations. Slowly, though, it becomes clear that the government
is overtaxing Armenians and brutally enforcing the practice with
violence. Vartan and Armen's father vows to stay, but as World War I
breaks out, circumstances deteriorate, and Armen must find bravery far
beyond his years. The most impressive aspect of Mekaelian's historical
tale is how it weaves together so many aspects of Armenian oppression
into one family's story without seeming implausible. The author
carefully depicts Kharpert as a pastoral place that also becomes the
setting of the worst things that humanity can offer, including forced
assimilation, deportation, and outright slaughter. The sensible,
memorable characters have an understandable dedication to their
territory, and although the subject matter becomes quite bleak, the
writing never does. The author shows Armen as a bright, humorous,
hardworking teenager faced with unthinkable realities, and the
wellsprings of courage that he draws from are seemingly limitless.

A tragic and beautiful story that manages to retain a wise and hopeful tone.

Publication Date: 2017-04-03
Publisher: Self
Stage: Indie
ISBN: 978-0-692-38516-6
Price: $19.99
Author: Mekaelian, M.N.