|
The Knock at the Door: A Journey Through the Darkness of the Armenian Genocide | 
 enlarge | Author: Margaret Ajemian Ahnert
Publisher: Beaufort Books
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy Used: $6.39
You Save: $18.56 (74%)
New (26) Used (15) Collectible (2) from $6.39
Rating:  21 reviews
Sales Rank: 330634
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 209
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 9.8 x 6.3 x 1.1
ISBN: 0825305128
Dewey Decimal Number: 956.620154
EAN: 9780825305122
ASIN: 0825305128
Publication Date: April 24, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: ex-library copy - usual markings/clean pages
| |
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
In this riveting book, first-time author Margaret Ajemian Ahnert relates her mother's terrifying experiences as a young woman during the oft-overlooked Armenian genocide in Turkey at the beginning of the twentieth century. At age 15, Ahnert's mother was separated from her foster family during a forced march away from her birth town of Amasia. She narrowly avoided kidnapping, faced unspeakable horrors at the hands of soldiers, and was forcibly married to an abusive Turkish wagon-driver. Throughout her ordeal, she had faith and reminded herself that "this, too, will pass," a mantra which enabled her to survive these nightmarish experiences. Eventually, she escaped captivity and was able to make her way to America. Ahnert's compelling account of her mother's suffering is framed by an intimate portrait of her relationship with her 98-year old mother. The reader sits with Ahnert in the Armenian Home as she cares for her mother and listens to the sometimes awful, occasionally funny, and always inspiring stories of her mother's turbulent life during a terrible period in human history.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 16 more reviews...
 A personal story, not a story of the Armenian genocide May 9, 2007
S. G. Lubbers (Irvine, CA)
10 out of 15 found this review helpful
As the title indicated, this book is the story of one individual journey through hell. The author retells the story of her mother's experience during the Armenian Genocide, but the experience shares similarities with the memories shared by the victims of other 20th century atrocities. Reading this story, one comes away with an insular view of events. Her vision of events never extends past the individual she is able to see, hear, touch. The soldier killing her grandmother, the abusive Turkish husband, the family that took her in, the family she lost. There is no sense of her experience being tied to a wider event, no awareness of what is prompting the event. There is never really an awareness that the same atrocities are going on throughout Turkey, not just in her village of Amasis. In fairness, the author never intends to offer a systematic historical account of the Armenian genocide. Those who are hoping to find that should be encouraged to look elsewhere.
The valuable contribution of this book is to offer a glimpse into the experience of a victim, and a survivor of genocide. Stories such as this remind us of the humanity involved, and allow us to move past the sterile academic discussions of causation, necessary conditions, etc. The middle third of this book offers a powerful and emotional look into the experience of the forced march many Armenians experienced in 1915. Those 40 pages alone make the book an important and worthwhile read.
When I look at genocide, I'm continually drawn to two widely divergent aspects of humanity. The first is the disgusting capacity mankind has to degrade and exterminate other human beings. The second is the mysterious coping mechanism human beings are capable of demonstrating - to deal with horrendous circumstances, and come out the other end of the journey alive, with their humanity intact. As I read survivor accounts, I am torn between a deep sadness at the capacity for evil we too often show and an awe at the resilience and hope shown by so many survivors. I wonder which aspects others are drawn to.
I should also confess one nagging uncertainty, one which left me feeling guilty, especially in light of the persistant denial of the Armenian Genocide. But as with many other memoirs, there were a few minor details that left me uneasy. For example, the Epilogue is entitled "Margaret - February 6, 1999". It recounts the day the author's mother passed away, and includes the reflection "In another three weeks, Mother would have been ninety-nine". Four pages later there is a memorium page dedicated to her mother, listing the dates of her birth and death as "March 12, 1900-February 7,1999" So was it the 6th or the 7th? March 12 would be closer to five weeks, not three. Perhaps those are minor things, but when dealing with a subject matter as vociferously denied as the Armenian Genocide, and intimately important as the death of a parent, why be sloppy with the dates? Two specific recollections also gave me some unease. After living for a few years with her Turkish husband without any attempt at escaping, one day "something inside [her] snaps" and she runs after a transport wagon. By coincidence it contains her long-lost brother, who helps her escape the abusive forced marriage. Perhaps a sign of divine intervention, but a mighty strong coincidence that the first wagon she runs after in three years contains her brother. Then, when she returns to Amasis, she goes to visit her childhood home. When she returns to the house (again, after a few years away) she stumbles across a woman looting the house and recounts how the woman was in the process of stealing a schoolbag embroided in her name. It will strike some, including myself I confess, as a VERY strong coincidence that the house was left alone for more than three years, only to have someone looting it the VERY moment when she returned.
I bring up this note of caution to let readers know that there will be some who attack this as nice storytelling, but not historically accurate. A reading at the NY Barnes&Noble was disrupted by a small group intent on denying the Armenian genocide. I should stress that I have no doubt that genocide occured in Turkey in 1915, and people were forced to endure horrible suffering. Just be aware that those who tell their story will be forced to deal with the nagging suspicion among some readers that their story is an embellished, emotional recounting rather than a historically accurate depiction.
 Powerful human story May 25, 2007
A. Wardlow (Ft. Lauderdale, FL USA)
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
The Knock at the Door is an amazing book that chronicles a horrible part of history endured by Ester, a young Armenian woman, in the early 1900's. Normally, it would be very difficult to read of such atrocities. However, the author, who is also Ester's daughter, has filled this story with love, while giving us a close look at some very difficult and personal events in her courageous mother's life. In the book, Ester says that she doesn't know why she was chosen to survive the Armenian genocide when so many others died. Perhaps it was so that she would give birth to a talented daughter who would have the courage to write a human story of this hidden history for the world to read. It occurred to me, as I was reading The Knock at the Door, that the last time I read a book about such a dark story that was filled with such great love, was Frank McCourt's "Angela's Ashes. The Knock at the Door is a powerful book tells an important historical tale in a very interesting way and I highly recommend it.
A Heartfelt and Personal Recollection of Tragic Events May 17, 2007
William F. Snyder (Upstate NY)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Margaret Ahnert's "The Knock at the Door" is a very personal and touching tribute and remembrance of her mother, who suffered through but survived the Armenian genocide by the Ottoman Turks in 1915. That her reading and book signing in New York City was disrupted by Turkish naysayers is testimony to the power and significance of her work. The charming mother/daughter story juxtaposed with the vivid retelling of the Armenian tragedy makes for an interesting read while providing a striking picture of one family's fate at the hands of the Turks. Recommended!
A True Account May 30, 2007
Cassiane (Acton, MA United States)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Ms. Ajemian Ahnert made a disclaimer: this riveting, horrifying, and almost unbearable to read account is based on her mother Ester's experiences, which she recorded and edited over a period of many years. Well, her account of those time is consistent with everything else I've read on the Armenian Genocide in Turkey. Indeed, some of the atrocities she recounts were familiar to me.
Though I am not Armenian, the plight of the Christian peoples of the Ottoman Empire and modern Turkey--the indigenous peoples of those regions--are dear to me. Let the truth be known!
This book is a riveting narrative and guaranteed to keep you up all night. You'll feel no ill effects!
Every so often..... September 30, 2007
Pamela Stephany (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
There are plenty of books which grapple with the ills of humanity. But what renders this book so touching and rare, is the time it took Margaret Ahnert to gather the story, organize the tales of an old woman - her adored mother, and allow it to warm and educate the reader. Time, not in the hours of completing the book-writing task, but instead the decades of devotion listening to her mother speak her story. I could imagine the New York afternoons with Ester telling Margaret about her youth - interspersed with the daily life of the grandchildren, the house, business, etc. What tedious joy it must have been for Margaret; taking notes, luring out the evil, yet delighting in those stories which build a life. What a strong old gal Ester was. And what a great daughter is Margaret to know it and have the insight to write such a personal tale of family love and worldly politics. Bravo.
|
|
|
|
| |
