- The Armenian Weekly - https://armenianweekly.com -

‘Choose to Rise: The Victory Within’ Now Available on Amazon

 

A novel by M.N. Mekaelian

To honor all those who survived, and memorialize those who perished, there arises an inspiring historical fiction, based on true events. Set in the Kharpert region of the Ottoman Empire, the reader is exposed to the daily lives of two brothers, Armen and Vartan, beginning in the year 1913.

The cover of ‘Choose to Rise: The Victory Within’

As they recall their youth during those years, the reader is absorbed into the lives of these two young men. They clearly display the courage, determination, and strength to never succumb to the inhumanity inflicted upon them. On the contrary, they make a conscious decision to empower their instinct of survival, and to persist, live, and expose the magnitude of the Armenian Genocide.

Sometimes with or without our knowledge, we are blind-sided and confronted with seemingly impossible adversity. However, whether or not we believe, there exists a power within every one of us to display a resilience not only to persevere, but to thrive. This supreme strength is unleashed and exposed so beautifully in Choose to Rise: The Victory Within. Once read, you will recall the phrase, “choose to rise,” when you yourself are challenged and must recognize this innermost power.

With this book, there remains an assurance that you have a choice to not tolerate anything contrary to your conscience. It is an inspiration which will never leave you, and confirms the impermeable grace which gave rise to a nation from the ashes of genocide.

Below is the Kirkus review of Choose to Rise: The Victory Within.

***

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 seventies 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.

 

 

Guest Contributor

Guest Contributor

Guest contributions to the Armenian Weekly are informative articles or press releases written and submitted by members of the community.
1 Comment (Open | Close)

1 Comment To "‘Choose to Rise: The Victory Within’ Now Available on Amazon"

#1 Comment By Jennifer On May 17, 2017 @ 6:01 pm

I have read this book and was amazed at the historical accuracy of the time period. As an educator, this is most definitely a novel of choice to teach intolerance, and specifically, the Armenian Genocide. Many times I tried to put the book down, but in fact, could not. It is a very scholarly work, and gives a precise picture of life before, during, and after the Genocide. The author’s research is thorough and well presented in this wonderful work.