Friday, August 6, 2010

The Gendarme by Mark T. Mustian

Title: The Gendarme
Author: Mark T. Mustian
ISBN: 9780399156342
Publisher: Amy Enhorn Books/2010
Pages: 288

With a cover like that, which haunts the reader, The Gendarme, is a novel, one can't put down.

America. 1990s. It starts with dreams from an very old man, Emmett Conn, who thinks he was a gendarme, in the 1920s, who used to escort Armenians from Turkey. While doing so, he had met a young girl, Araxie and fallen in love with her. Emmett's dreams are so vivid that he thinks that they really happened. It turns out that he had been injured in the ensuing war and memory loss was one of the consequences. He had come over to US and started a new life.

However, his dreams tell him that he did a wrong by abandoning and forgetting all about Araxie. Now aftr seven decades, he knows he has to find her and ask for her forgiveness. Will he be able to do it? Why is it so important for him?

Via this novel, I learnt about the politics of Turkey in the early 1900s, its after effects, the unheard of genocide, about gendarmes, their various roles, the exodus, the Armenian connection. I also learnt about a world and a culture, that I know nohing about.

Love transcends time, countries, cultures and sustains, no matter what.

13 comments:

Aleksandra said...

Sounds really interesting! Great find :)

Emma said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog.

I haven't heard of this book before, and it looks like something I would be interested in. I used to live in Turkey some years ago, so it appeals to me.Thanks for sharing your Friday Finds.

The Mistress of the Dark said...

Wow that sounds like a fascinating book. Definitely a great find!

(Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea said...

I started this book and hope to finish it this weekend...good so far!

bermudaonion said...

I just got this and I'm almost giddy with excitement about it!

Heather said...

Oh wow, this sounds great! I've heard nothing but good things about Amy Einhorn's books.

Unknown said...

Hi! Stopped by from the blog and became a new follower. The Gendarme has been on my radar for awhile now...sounds great!

Jess said...

Sounds awesome and what a fantastic cover!

Chotti said...

I agree, I quite like the cover as well. Interesting premise, sounds like it would be a fun read.

You can see my finds here

Alayne said...

Great find. I'd love this one too. Thanks for visiting The Crowded Leaf.

Chrissie said...

I haven't heard of this book before but it certainly sounds like an interesting read. Great review :)

Alyce said...

This one looks really good and I love the cover!

Stephanie said...

I'd never heard of this before -- it sounds like an intriguing story with plenty of history and culture.