Orhan's Inheritance by Aline Ohanesian
Beautifully written, Aline Ohanesian’s debut novel, Orhan's Inheritance, draws in readers from the first sentence. Upon news of the death of his grandfather, Orhan returns to the small Turkish town where he grew up to attend the service and reading of the will. To his delight (and his father’s indignation), Orhan’s grandfather, Kemal, declared, in violation of Turkish inheritance laws, that the family business will skip a generation and go to Orhan instead of his father. This pleasing news is quickly followed by frustration and confusion as the family learns that their home has been bequeathed to a stranger named Seda living in California. Orhan crosses the ocean to meet her and learn what her connection is to his family and their house.
Alternating between life when Kemal was a young man (in 1915) and the modern day (which takes place in 1990), we follow both Kemal and Seda (and other family members), and learn why their connection to each other lasted (however tenuously) beyond borders and throughout decades. 1915 is the year that changes both of their lives forever, the year that rips apart their worlds as Turks are pitted against Armenians against the backdrop of the first World War. This is the year that the Turkish government forced the Armenian minority into death marches that many consider the first modern genocide (though, even at the 100th anniversary, Turkey still rejects this term). Like Elie Wiesel’s Night, this novel provokes questions about how human beings can commit such atrocities and how survivors live with horrors that haunt them throughout their lives. While not overly graphic, the descriptions may be disturbing for sensitive readers. Read it with a mind open to learning about history that few of us learned in school, and with tissues nearby.
~ Mia @ Central