Dawn uses his journals to guide her to the places he was imperiled and imprisoned and the desert he crossed with only half a bottle of water. In The Hundred-Year Walk, MacKeen alternates between Stepan's courageous account, drawn from his long-lost journals, and her own story as she attempts to retrace his steps, setting out alone to Turkey and Syria, shadowing her resourceful, resilient grandfather across a landscape still rife with tension. Growing up, Dawn MacKeen heard from her mother how her grandfather Stepan miraculously escaped from the Turks during the Armenian genocide of 1915, when more than one million people-half the Armenian population-were killed.
"An emotionally poignant work" of survival during the Armenian genocide (Aline Ohanesian, author of Orhan's Inheritance). To the Armenians or non-Armenians that are interested in learning more about this period in history, or to the people that want get lost between the pages of an incredible story, I highly suggest reading The Hundred Year Walk.A Dayton Literary Peace Prize Finalist and New York Post Must-Read. Though I picked up this book expecting only a historical account of Genocide survival, I was captivated by multifaceted novel containing vivid imagery, powerful themes, and two remarkable journeys that tied the present and the past. While the horrors that MacKeen’s grandfather faced from the Ottoman Turkish government were explained in detail, the kindness and lifesaving acts that he experienced from Turks, Arabs, and other parties were also highlighted, thus painting a more realistic picture of the good and evil that exist in all communities. MacKeen’s personal journey through Turkey and Syria was filled with surprise encounters of kindness and acceptance from Turks and Arabs alike.
Throughout the story and Stepan’s personal testimonies, I never felt that a vilifying blanket was being placed on all Turkish people. The way MacKeen weaves her personal journey into Stepan’s makes for a unique and more vivid perspective that leaves the reader in shock and awe.įurthermore, I appreciate the peaceful and resolution-oriented approach that MacKeen takes on the Genocide. I will save the details of MacKeen’s journey for the reader to enjoy, but I will comment on the way it beautifully ties together her grandfather’s journey with the modern world inside the Armenian community and out. But what really made this novel so unique and compelling to me is the author’s unbelievable journey retracing the footsteps of her grandfather in modern-day Turkey and Syria.
Her ability to depict her grandfather, in all his liveliness and humor, made for a story that filled the reader with a diverse range of emotions instead of only pain. Throughout this story, MacKeen did an incredible job in her attention to detail and supporting research in putting together the most accurate representation of her grandfather, Stepan Miskjian’s, story. Like many Genocide novels, The Hundred Year Walk describes the shocking and incredible journey of suffering and survival from the eyes of an Armenian during these dark times. But as I began reading, unable to put it down, I soon realized that MacKeen’s novel was not only a historical account, but so much more. This was largely what I was expecting when I picked up Dawn Anahid MacKeen’s novel, The Hundred Year Walk. As an appreciative reader of these personal testimonies from Genocide survivors, I am accustomed to the pain that accompanies these books and the normal style of their historical depictions. Each are incredibly compelling and difficult to read, constantly forcing me to put the book down at multiple points to collect myself. I am familiar with the horror and brutality described within the pages of Genocide novels.
0 kommentar(er)
