The Sandcastle Girls

by Chris Bohjalian

[ibeforem]

I didn’t learn of the Armenian Genocide until I was the ripe old age of 19 or 20. I went to college in Waltham, Massachusetts, and one day on a drive through the neighboring town of Watertown, I spotted the Armenian Library and Museum. Realizing I had no idea where Armenians were from, I went home and looked them up.

Bohjalian, the grandson of Armenian survivors, has dropped us into the midst of the genocide, and has given us multiple points of view. First there is Elizabeth, the young Boston girl who is there to do mission work. Her counterpoint is Armen, a young Armenian engineer who is searching for his wife and daughter and surviving solely because of his usefulness. He searches every group of refugees that arrives in Aleppo, Syria after a ruthless march through the desert, but so far, the search is fruitless. These, and the additional points of view, give us the experience from many sides, and I think it’s a crucial part of the story construction.

In the present day, Laura is becoming increasingly obsessed with finding out the story of her grandparents, Armen and Elizabeth, a task made more difficult by their reluctance to talk about their experience. When she began her search, she had no idea the incredible story she would uncover.

I thought Bohjalian told a lovely story, full of joy and sorrow and missed opportunities. We get a taste of the Armenian culture, as well as an idea of the conditions of the genocide, without it being either too whitewashed or too overwrought. When a taste of the true horror is needed, he gives it to you, and when you need a taste of kindness, you get that too.

I’ve recently read another book that was very personal to the author: The Most Dangerous Thing by Laura Lippman, set in the time and place where she grew up. In that case, I felt that her closeness to the story was a huge set-back. The Sandcastle Girls is the complete opposite of that. This feels like a labor of love, and I think Bohjalian really did justice to the Armenian people and their troubled history.