Black Dog of Fate: An American Son Uncovers His Armenian Past
by Peter Balakian
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 132)
Like many non-Armenians, this was the first book I read about how the Armenian genocide impacts contemporary Armenian American lives. Balakian is a fabulous writer; I have since read (and loved) a couple of his poetry books and see now how his way with language, with meaning and sound, plays into making Black Dog the classic that it is. I already knew a bit about the genocide, and about how that history, Turkey's denial of the genocide which continues to this day, and the US government's contemp...more
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Read in November, 2007
recommends it for:
Interested in knowing more about the Armenian Genocide
Half memoir about growing up in a first/second generation immigrant family in the suburbs of America, half memoir about discovering family skeletons and the events of the Armenian genocide, this book is wholly engrossing. The first half of the book is a portrait if Peter's relationship with various members of his family with almost no reference to his "Armenian Past." The second half of the book focuses on his discovery of the Armenian Genocide through various texts and an unwelcome (b...more
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Read in January, 2007
Peter Balakian is really a poet but wrote Black Dog of Fate after the death of his Armenian grandmother to connect with her after his death. This memoir won the Pen Albrand Award in 1997, is a short 300 pages, and I found it to be a real page turner. The son of a upper middle class family whose father was a physician, Balakian grew up in New Jersey close enough to Manhattan to visit his intellectual family members there including his grandmother.
He slowly discovers his family’s past wh...more
He slowly discovers his family’s past wh...more
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Read in July, 2008
A book well worth reading, but not so much for it's content about the Armenian Genocide. You're not going to find much in this book that you don't find in, say, Morgenthau; most of his data on the genocide comes from that source including some -very- lengthy quotes. What's interesting about the book is his description of growing up in northern Jersey in the 50s and 60s and how his family cut as many ties with the past as they possibly could. Balakanian's discovery of his family's past as an adul...more
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Read in September, 2007
in some ways this author's story mirrors my own, and so I appreciated finding small gems of truth put into words that I didn't know were a common Armenian-American experience. objectively, I suspect the book could be better. Still, it meant so much to me to learn more about the Armenian Genocide, particularly details of the author's grandparents' experience surviving the Genocide - in the absence of knowing those own details of my family's history - that in the end I really liked this book.
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I have always had a hard time connecting heritage to the people and relatives who lived it. All the books I've ever read have been eyewitness accounts that don't encompass the experience and addition to the Armenian account of the next generation growing up in the states. It lets the ethnicity and fears of the Armenians take into account the frusterations of the 1960s generation of Armenian-AMERICANS. I think I can understand my mother and her parents now.
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This book was painful to read. The alarming truth of the history presented in this memoir made me ashamed of my own ignorance of history, and yet enlightened me to a culture that was nearly eradicated before I knew it existed. Anyone interested in family history might be curious to know that some of the discoveries made are anything but glamorous, but very revealing of the strnegth and tenacity of the human spirit which imprints our genes.
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Read in May, 2007
recommends it for:
Anyone clueless about Armenian culture and Genocide
This being the first Armenian-centric book I have read, I found it really informative. It starts out as this memoir-narrative book with vignettes about Balakian's family on both sides and then travels to this discovery of self and family via and within the context of the Armenian genocide. The second half of the book which reads much more historical and informative is heartbreaking and a little slow, but a fascinating read nonetheless.
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Read in January, 2003
recommends it for:
Interested in learning about the Armenian Genocide, Turkish crimes against humanity...
It's two books struggling to find room under the same cover and title. It's an interesting reflection of an Armenian American's experience growing up in middle class America and then takes a left turn into addressing issues with reparations and justice for the Armenian Genocide of 1915. Both sections were very enjoyable to read but it could have been two separate books.
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Read in April, 2003
Definitely something all younger generation Armenians can identify with, but with an educating perspective for non-Armenians. I get a little frustrated with the digression into all of the historical detail - Balakian is a great storyteller about his childhood, and I think that's where this book is best. I'm looking forward to The Burning Tigris for more historical context.
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Read in August, 2008
What a fascinating topic left in the hands of such a mediocre writer. This book is a good introduction to the Armenian Genocide mostly because it is, at times, simply a collection of excerpts from other books and not because Balakian is an amazing writer. He's not by any stretch of the imagination. It's unfortunate because the subject matter truly is compelling.
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It is a story of the authors struggle with his identity as an armenian.
I related plenty with this author and I felt that my story was written. (As an armenian who does not look armenian and does not know how to speak the language).
I learned that being armenian means something deeper within the heart- the longing for survival of the culture.
I related plenty with this author and I felt that my story was written. (As an armenian who does not look armenian and does not know how to speak the language).
I learned that being armenian means something deeper within the heart- the longing for survival of the culture.
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Read in January, 2005
recommends it for:
anyone interested in genocide
I knew next to nothing about the Armenian genocide, though my interest was piqued after seeing the film Ararat (loved it). The author's description of his grandmother's hands and the parallel he draws to the suffering of the Armenian people made me cry. A beautiful book.
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This is a very interesting mix of history, biography and poetry. An account of a young Armenian growing up in America. Gives great historical insight, and a good starter for anyone interested in finding out more about the Armenian genocide from the turn of last century.
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Read in June, 2007
This book taught me about the horrors of the Armenian genocide, of which I had no knowledge. It brought me closer to an Armenian friend. Being partially of Italian decent, I related to the author's close relationships with his grandmother and his aunts.
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Read in February, 2008
A biographical story from a 1st generation Armenian-American. It details his adult discovery of the Armenian genocide. It's very interesting, but with some very sad and graphic accounts, not always the best right before bed choice as I found out :)
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I had hoped for more of an historical overview of the Armenian genocide. While a perfectly good book, it deals as much with growing up as the son of immigrants to the US as it does with what I wanted to read.
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Read in January, 2004
I loved this book. Excellent job of writing by Balakian so I've purchased another one of his books, The Burning Tigris, that I plan to read later on this year.
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in October, 2006
A memoir. Honest. Funny. Historically informative. Any New York Armenian will read in rapt attention, beguiled by how closely his life parallels Balakian's.
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My grandfather's American missionary family survived the siege of Van. I really appreciated the research on the Armenian holocaust.
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