Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Book Review: 'The Gendarme' By Mark T. Mustian

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Book Review: 'The Gendarme' By Mark T. Mustian

    BOOK REVIEW: 'THE GENDARME' BY MARK T. MUSTIAN

    Seattle Post Intelligencer
    Dec 5 2013

    By ManOfLaBook.com, BLOGCRITICS.ORG
    Published 10:00 pm, Tuesday, December 3, 2013

    The Gendarme by Mark T. Mustian is a novel about the Armenian
    genocide. The events take place during World War I, when the Turks
    deported Armenians into Syria - an explosion which is seen everywhere
    but Turkey as an act of genocide.

    Ahmet Kahn, is 92 and suffers from a brain tumor and the ailments
    of old age. In his dreams, Emmett is hunted by a girl he saved while
    participating in what was to become the genocide.

    Emmett tries to find out what happened to the girl who was one of 65
    survivors he was in charge of marching out of Turkey - 65 out of 2,000.

    As a Turkish soldier, during a battle he was mistaken for an English
    trooper, sent to the hospital and married an American nurse. He also
    lost his memory.

    As the 92-year-old starts remembering some of the horrors he inflicted
    on others, he must find what happened to the girl he loved, and still
    loves, so he can give rest to his conscience and his dreams. The
    author takes a good look at a tortured soul, a man who did things he
    knew were wrong and is now trying to make amends, trying to figure
    out if the life he saved made a difference.

    It is refreshing to read a story from the aggressor's point of view;
    usually we look through a victim's eyes. This aggressor, however, is
    justifying his acts, horrendous acts. In war and under pressure, as
    well as immersed in a mob mentality, regular people commit atrocities
    that weeks or even days before were unthinkable to them.

    While it's not the author's main point, he does insert many shades
    of grey into his story. We get to know a man who we would otherwise
    consider a war criminal. We follow his trials, tribulations, his
    relationship with his daughters, his troubled grandson, his dead wife
    and his long lost love which he gave up a lot for but still doesn't
    exactly know why? Maybe to save a shade of humanity which is lost
    during such times.

    This book works on many levels, historical and emotional. It analyzes
    regret, forgiveness and how our perception changes with the environment
    and over time. It's a well-written novel about an overlooked genocide
    and the human experience.

    http://www.seattlepi.com/lifestyle/blogcritics/article/Book-Review-The-Gendarme-by-Mark-T-Mustian-5035946.php

Working...
X