The Armenian Odar Reads…

The Armenian Odar Reads takes a second look at Penelope by Goar Markosyan-Kasper. The literary blog based in Armenia says that on first reading the book in Dutch it wasn’t impressed, but that since living in the country it makes a lot more sense. Nevertheless, the book is let down by the writing and the characters.

The timing of my rereading Penelope is […] fortunate, because this novel is set in Armenia in 1994. The early 1990s were a difficult time for Armenians: there was a war going on with neighboring Azerbaijan and because of this the borders with both Azerbaijan and Turkey were closed, there was no gas, there was electricity for only a few hours a day, people were using woodstoves for heating and cooking (during these years Armenia lost an amazing amount of its forests). In short, life was very difficult. These days people still remember those years and they -rightly or not- blame then president Levon Ter-Petrossian for their hardships then.

[…]

According to the blurb on the cover of the book Penelope could be seen as a metaphor for the newly independent state of Armenia, a bride who has to chose between tradition (Armen) and the new businessmindedness devoid of any culture (Edgar). I am not so sure I completely agree with this, as I found Edgar rather traditional as well. The type of Armenian man that I imagined him to be like, is indeed lacking any culture, is interested in status, money and showing off, but is also incredibly old-fashioned and traditional. For those who know Armenia and Armenians: I am talking about rabiz-style people.

[…]

[…] There is hardly any plot, as you must have guessed from my description above. If this kind of book works for you, I recommend Penelope, because it does give a good image of what life was like in Armenia right after it became independent again. Though life is definitely a lot easier for most people now (for one thing: there is round-the-clock gas, electricity, though not always water, and food is more readily available), the book still gives a fairly good picture of the country.