Author retells tragedy of Armenian genocide
By Nicky Loomis Correspondent
Pasadena Star-News
Article Launched:04/16/2007 12:00:00 AM PDT
SOUTH PASADENA – April 24th is marked as the beginning of the Armenian
genocide and is commemorated as a day of remembrance at the site of
memorials raised by Armenian survivors around the world.
Local author Kay Mouradian unveils one family’s experience of the
Armenian genocide, told through the eyes of a 14-year-old girl, in her
novel, "A Gift in the Sunlight, An Armenian Story," now published by
Taderon Press.
Mouradian, a South Pasadena resident for 49 years, "loosely based" the
novel on the experience of her mother, who survived the slayings before
escaping to America after the war.
Her mother only unveiled her harrowing story during the last five years
of her life, Mouradian said.
"My purpose was to really tell the Armenian story," she said. "I was
thinking that the characters would be representative of every Armenian
family that was deported."
Between 1915 and 1918, during World War I, the Turkish government
ordered more than 2 million Turkish Armenians to leave their homes and
march hundreds of miles into the deserts of Syria.
It is estimated that 1.5 million Armenians perished between 1915 and
1923, according to the Armenian National Institute.
Mouradian, a retired professor of health and physical education,
conducted research for her book by drawing on the works of journalists
and historians during World War I.
"I would go to the history section and biography and if I saw the word
Constantinople, I bought the book," said Mouradian, referring the
Turkish capital now called Istanbul. She later walked the same route as
her mother and ancestors did as she researched her story.
After 10 years, the final product is a heartfelt, coming-of-age story of
her mother’s life as she grew up in a time of turmoil.
The main character, Flora, and her family are forced to leave their
sleepy village in the Taurus Mountains and walk hundreds of miles
through the barren deserts of Syria.
Amid the horror of genocide, Mouradian weaves in acts of heroism in each
character’s journey and makes a human connection to a historic tragedy.
Mouradian will read from her book at the Los Angeles Times Festival of
Books at UCLA on at 11 a.m. April 29, and at
7 p.m. May 24 at the Sardarabad Bookstore, 111 S. Glendale Ave., Glendale.
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