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The Sandcastle Girls A Novel Chris Bohjalian Books

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The Sandcastle Girls A Novel Chris Bohjalian Books

When I ordered this book it was the Armenian aspect that attracted me. I have Armenian friends, therefore, I was aware about the genocide during WWI. However, I was unaware of what the details were. The book is moving in a way that was unexpected. At first I was thinking is this non-fiction? The way it is written leads you to this conclusion. However, it is a novel but based on a lot of facts. Hence there is some pretty awful descriptions of the things that were done to the Armenians. I could not put the book down it moved me, disgusted me and had me cheering for the protagonists. I have been compelled to learn more about the genocide. All in all I enjoyed the book and learnt something, You couldn't get any better than this in a book.


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The Sandcastle Girls A Novel Chris Bohjalian Books Reviews

I loved this book in spite of a bit too much coincidence at the ending. The Armenian genocide is surely one of the world's most horrible crimes and yet it is hardly recognized. It is said that history is told by the victors and in this case, there really weren't any victors the Ottoman Empire disintegrated and the Armenians scattered.

This story is actually set in Aleppo Syria where thousands of Armenians are driven into resettlement camps after being forced out of Turkey by the Turks. WWI finds the Germans fighting on the side of the Turks. An American doctor of Armenian descent and his daughter Elizabeth, a recent graduate of Mt. Holyoke, go to Aleppo to help provide medical relief to the refugees. They stay in the American consulate, a palace compared to the dwellings of Aleppo. Elizabeth soon hardens herself to the harsh surroundings and meets Armen Petrosian, an Armenian engineer. Elizabeth and Armen eventually become the great grandparents of the narrator. Switching from contemporary times and the narrator's search for information and the early 1900's, the story gradually unfolds set in the midst of the horrid circumstances of the Armenian refugees. Central to the story is a series of photographs of the refugees taken by German engineers which are eventually smuggled out of the country making the world aware of the atrocities.

I love Bohjalian's historical fiction (wasn't as fond of his contemporary stories), and this was compelling and interesting leading me to read much more about Armenia and the genocide. The Turks feared the Armenians were conspiring with the Russians during the war; thus their fear. Most of the Armenians are Christian, the Turks Muslims; however, very little is made of the religious issues. The background of WWI provides the setting.

I did feel as if Bohjalian's purpose was really to tell the story of the genocide and he created characters to make it personal. The ending involves a scene where Elizabeth meets Armen's first wife, Karine, who supposedly died in the dreadful march across the desert from Armenia to Allepo. The ending is just a bit too pat, but minor weakness in a powerful story of a dreadful time in history that is virtually unknown.
I wavered between 3 & 4 stars...and perhaps settled on 3 because I just thought it good be better.

First, read this book now for the history. It's the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and you may have heard mention of it in the news. This will give you a context for what they are talking about.

As far as the novel goes...evaluated as simply a novel...I kept wondering why I didn't care that much. Possible reasons
1. the story is told within the frame by a descendant of two of the characters living through the genocide--safe bet they survived--so an large amount of tension is lost.
2. I wasn't sure why it was told by the descendant. Perhaps an Armenian American gives some perspective on what it means to be an <Insert Nationality here> American but I can't say the narrator was compelling.
3. The grandmother is a main character during the genocide but a very distant, faceless character from the narrators point of view. Was that deliberate or a missed opportunity?
4. There are at least two surprises at the end (no spoiler here) but they didn't change how I understood the story. They certainly didn't bring the book to a climax, they dribbled out as if the author had them in mind all along but got tired or lost.

The more positive side is the writing, the intimate glimpse of a side of history you've probably never paid much attention to--including fighting in WWI that wasn't in the muddy trenches of France.
This story of the Armenian genocide from the point of view of a young American working to provide help to the Armenians being driven from their homes in the north of Turkey and her involvement with a young Armenian man keeps one turning the pages. A bit confusing is the back and forth from 1915 to the present day in which Laura researches the genocide to find out more about her grandparents. But as you get used to this "back and forth" it makes sense. The characters are well-drawn and by the end of the book, the reader knows them well.
I have absolutely fallen in love with this kind of book!! As hard as part of it was to read the human spirit never ceases to amaze me.... there was a paragraph in the book that shook me to my core because I'm sure these kinds of things really happened. This one soldier was explaining to another how they entertained themselves while marching the Armenian women to wherever they were taking them. "we wondered how many women we could kill with one bullet...." he then went on. "if we stripped off there clothes and shoved them together tits to back we could kill 10 with one shot BUT it had to be a good rifle!!" I had to read it 5 times because I couldn't believe what I was reading....

The thing that amazed me was I had never heard of this Armenian Genocide... One million and a half people (1,500,000. Staggering isn't it??). were slaughtered and I'd never heard of it!!! This is not a book for everyone! I wanted my Reading Buddy BFF to read it but she couldn't.... just to much for her. I can't wait to read another Bohjalian book!!!
When I ordered this book it was the Armenian aspect that attracted me. I have Armenian friends, therefore, I was aware about the genocide during WWI. However, I was unaware of what the details were. The book is moving in a way that was unexpected. At first I was thinking is this non-fiction? The way it is written leads you to this conclusion. However, it is a novel but based on a lot of facts. Hence there is some pretty awful descriptions of the things that were done to the Armenians. I could not put the book down it moved me, disgusted me and had me cheering for the protagonists. I have been compelled to learn more about the genocide. All in all I enjoyed the book and learnt something, You couldn't get any better than this in a book.