Meline Toumani is an American of Armenian extraction who was born in Iran. All her life, whenever she is with other Armenians, there is conversation about the genocide of the Armenians by the Turks in 1918. She decides to visit Turkey to help herself puzzle out the implications of this and of the Turkish refusal to admit or even acknowledge the genocide. The result is a remarkable memoir: There Was and There Was Not: A Journey through Hate and Possibility in Turkey, Armenia and Beyond.
During her stay in Turkey, she comes to like the city of Istanbul and to make Turkish friends, but her Armenian heritage is always lurking in the background, both in her mind and her attitudes towards the Turks and in their attitude towards her. The Turkish attitude toward the genocide is absolutely uncompromising: It is a crime to discuss it in Turkey. But the Armenian attitude, at least as described by Toumani, is also uncompromising. The genocide - and getting it recognized as a genocide - informs a huge portion of what it means to be Armenian.
In addition to being very thoughtful and brave, this book is very well written and a pleasure to read. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the topics it touches on.
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