Chris Bohjalian

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Chris Bohjalian

Goodreads Author


Born
in White Plains, New York, The United States
Website

Twitter

Genre

Member Since
November 2007


Chris Bohjalian is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of 25 books. His 25th book, THE JACKAL’S MISTRESS, is now on sale. He writes literary fiction, historical fiction, thrillers, and (on occasion) ghost stories. His goal is never to write the same book twice. He has published somewhere in the neighborhood of 3.5 million words.

His work has been translated into 35 languages and become three movies (MIDWIVES, SECRETS OF EDEN, and PAST THE BLEACHERS) and an Emmy-winning TV series (THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT). He has two other novels in development for TV series as well.

He is also a playwright, including THE CLUB in 2024; MIDWIVES in 2020; and GROUNDED (now WINGSPAN) in 2018.

His books have been chosen as Best Books of the Year by the Washing
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Popular Answered Questions

Chris Bohjalian Okay, here are ten random suggesstions — the last a reference to the fact I was told by a creative writing professor when I was in college that I shou…moreOkay, here are ten random suggesstions — the last a reference to the fact I was told by a creative writing professor when I was in college that I should become a banker.

1) Don’t merely write what you know. Write what you don’t know. It might be more difficult at first, but – unless you’ve just scaled Mount Everest or found a cure for all cancers – it will also be more interesting.

2) Do some research. Read the letters John Winthrop wrote to his wife, or the letters a Civil War private sent home to his family from Antietam, or the stories the metalworkers told of their experiences on the girders high in the air when they were building the Empire State Building. Good fiction is rich with minutiae – what people wore, how they cooked, how they filled the mattresses on which they slept – and often the details you discover will help you dramatically with your narrative.

3) Interview someone who knows something about your topic. Fiction may be a solitary business when you’re actually writing, but prior to sitting down with your computer (or pencil or pen), it often demands getting out into the real world and learning how (for instance) an ob-gyn spends her day, or what a lawyer does when he isn’t in the courtroom, or exactly what it feels like to a farmer to milk a cow when he’s been doing it for 35 years. Ask questions. . .and listen.

4) Interview someone else. Anyone else. Ask questions that are absolutely none of your business about their childhood, their marriage, their sex life. They don’t have to be interesting (though it helps). They don’t even have to be honest.

5) Read some fiction you wouldn’t normally read: A translation of a Czech novel, a mystery, a book you heard someone in authority dismiss as “genre fiction.”

6) Write for a day without quote marks. It will encourage you to see the conversation differently, and help you to hear in your head more precisely what people are saying and thereby create dialogue that sounds more realistic. You may even decide you don’t need quote marks in the finished story.

7) Skim the thesaurus, flip through the dictionary. Find new words and words you use rarely – lurch, churn, disconsolate, effulgent, intimations, sepulchral, percolate, pallid, reproach – and use them in sentences.

8) Lie. Put down on paper the most interesting lies you can imagine. . .and then make them plausible.

9) Write one terrific sentence. Don’t worry about anything else – not where the story is going, not where it should end. Don’t pressure yourself to write 500 or 1,000 words this morning. Just write 10 or 15 ones that are very, very sound.

10) Pretend you’re a banker, but you write in the night to prove to some writing professor that she was wrong, wrong, wrong. Allow yourself a small dram of righteous anger.(less)
Chris Bohjalian That's a wonderful question -- and in my case easy to answer.

I am a descendant of two survivors of the Armenian Genocide: my grandparents. Like so ma…more
That's a wonderful question -- and in my case easy to answer.

I am a descendant of two survivors of the Armenian Genocide: my grandparents. Like so many survivors, they took most of their stories to their graves. Oh, we know bits and pieces. But there are great, gaping holes in the narrative because some elements were, apparently, too painful to share.

For instance, my grandfather had three brothers -- and we know nothing about what happened to them. Likewise, we have almost no specifics about how my grandmother and her mother survived after her father was executed by Ottoman soldiers and their horse farm and home were confiscated.

Certainly that idea of "mystery" was integral in the tone of my novel, "The Sandcastle Girls."

But there might be one more book to write about that part of my family history. We'll see.

Thanks for asking.

(less)
Average rating: 3.74 · 687,073 ratings · 66,329 reviews · 46 distinct worksSimilar authors
Midwives

really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 163,081 ratings — published 1997 — 54 editions
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The Flight Attendant

3.53 avg rating — 92,388 ratings — published 2018 — 29 editions
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Hour of the Witch

3.84 avg rating — 50,667 ratings — published 2021 — 17 editions
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The Sandcastle Girls

3.89 avg rating — 42,673 ratings — published 2012 — 2 editions
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The Guest Room

3.70 avg rating — 33,442 ratings — published 2016 — 22 editions
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The Double Bind

3.64 avg rating — 30,550 ratings — published 2007 — 47 editions
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The Light in the Ruins

3.68 avg rating — 30,128 ratings — published 2013 — 19 editions
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Skeletons at the Feast

really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 26,989 ratings — published 2008 — 38 editions
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The Lioness

3.71 avg rating — 25,421 ratings — published 2022 — 14 editions
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The Red Lotus

3.73 avg rating — 21,757 ratings — published 2020 — 3 editions
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More books by Chris Bohjalian…

They Don't Make Toys Like They Used to -- Thank Heavens.

24 December 2025

Dear Friends Who Read and Readers Who Are Friends,

The bug wasn’t Gregor Samsa-big, as in “The Metamorphosis.” We’re not talking Kafkaesque.

But in my memory it was the size of a cat, vaguely wasp-like – black and yellow – boasting both a stinger at the rear and an earwig’s pincers emanating from the sides of its jaw. If you packed its bulbous abdomen with D batteries, it would motor Read more of this blog post »
5 likes ·   •  2 comments  •  flag
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Published on December 24, 2025 05:03

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Sandwich
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by Catherine Newman (Goodreads Author)
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Yesteryear
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Blue Sisters
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by Coco Mellors (Goodreads Author)
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Chris’s Recent Updates

Chris is now friends with Mila LaFayette
195856351
" Ann wrote: "I have happy memories of Creepy Crawlers and Jarts…and survived my childhood!!"

My memories are happy too -- just amazed I made it into adu
...more "
Chris is currently reading
Sandwich by Catherine Newman
Sandwich
by Catherine Newman (Goodreads Author)
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Chris added a status update: Galleys of my 2026 novel arrived…and they match our tree and my beloved pup’s blue eye! Learn more about THE AMATEUR at https://tinyurl.com/5avp55ph or right here on Goodreads! This novel is awash in the strangeness of my adolescence and young adulthood. Hoping you'll dive in and enjoy it.

Chris rated a book it was amazing
Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
Hamnet
by Maggie O'Farrell (Goodreads Author)
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Yes, late to the party, but I was transported by the authenticity of the world Maggie O'Farrell created. And, just like Shakespeare's classics, we love this story EVEN THOUGH we know what will, essentially, happen. In this case, an adorable and kind ...more
Chris and 2 other people liked Candy's review of The Amateur: A Novel:
The Amateur by Chris Bohjalian
"In August 1978, 18 year old Mira accidentally kills another teenager when her golf ball tears through a practice net and strikes him in the head. Though initially deemed a tragic accident, suspicion grows as investigators uncover flaws in the net, re" Read more of this review »
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Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke
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Going Home by Tom Lamont
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"Going Home" was a revelation for me: a debut novel that is funny, smart, poignant, and tender -- without EVER becoming mawkish or sentimental. A London mom in her early thirties kills herself, leaving behind a 2 and 1/2 year old boy and NO clue who ...more
Chris rated a book it was amazing
What We Can Know by Ian McEwan
What We Can Know
by Ian McEwan (Goodreads Author)
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Ian McEwan is a treasure and WHAT WE CAN KNOW is one of those novels where he really sticks the landing. Just when we think we know where it's going. . .he completely upends our expectations in a fashion that's brilliant. The first half is set in wha ...more
Chris is currently reading
Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
Hamnet
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More of Chris's books…
Quotes by Chris Bohjalian  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“Food is a gift and should be treated reverentially--romanced and ritualized and seasoned with memory.”
Chris Bohjalian, Secrets of Eden
tags: food

“We may talk a good game and write even better ones, but we never outgrow those small wounded things we were when we were five and six and seven.”
Chris Bohjalian, Secrets of Eden

“But history does matter. There is a line connecting the Armenians and the Jews and the Cambodians and the Bosnians and the Rwandans. There are obviously more, but, really, how much genocide can one sentence handle?”
Chris Bohjalian, The Sandcastle Girls

Polls

Which of these six runners up should we choose for our December Group Fiction Read?

 
  13 votes, 43.3%

 
  9 votes, 30.0%

 
  3 votes, 10.0%

 
  3 votes, 10.0%

 
  1 vote, 3.3%

 
  1 vote, 3.3%

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Topics Mentioning This Author

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The Next Best Boo...: Jodi Picoult 43 443 Apr 16, 2009 08:11AM  
Pick-a-Shelf: 2009-07 - Realistic Fiction - Post July Reviews Here 65 119 Aug 13, 2009 10:12AM  
Challenge: 50 Books: Mandy's 50 in 2009 34 361 Aug 21, 2009 09:01PM  
The Next Best Boo...: September 's Groups Reads Are..... 148 742 Sep 10, 2009 04:32PM  
“And though some days it is very hard, I try not to live for the future. And I try not to dream of the past.”
Chris Bohjalian, The Law of Similars

“As Jeremy Bentham had asked about animals well over two hundred years ago, the question was not whether they could reason or talk, but could they suffer? And yet, somehow, it seemed to take more imagination for humans to identify with animal suffering than it did to conceive of space flight or cloning or nuclear fusion. Yes, she was a fanatic in the eyes of most of the country. . .Mostly, however, she just lacked patience for people who wouldn't accept her belief that humans inflicted needless agony on the animals around them, and they did so in numbers that were absolutely staggering.”
Chris Bohjalian, Before You Know Kindness

“Though angels were easy to finds in cemeteries, she said that she didn't especially care for funereal angels and tombstone cherubs -- she wanted her angels among the living, not watching over the already dead -- and thus she scoured parks and gardens for the angels with whom, on some level, she wanted to commune.”
Chris Bohjalian, Secrets of Eden

“Sara knew that behind its locked front door no home was routine. Not the house of her childhood, not the apartment of her husband's. not the world they were building together with Willow and Patrick. All households had their mysteries, their particular forms of dysfunction.”
Chris Bohjalian, Before You Know Kindness

“He moved quickly away from her through the ring, his whole body starting forward with the big animal in two-point and then -- the horse's legs extended before and behind her, a carousel pony but real, the immense thrust invisible to anyone but the boy on the creature's back -- he was rising, rising, rising. . .
And aloft.”
Chris Bohjalian, The Buffalo Soldier

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message 17: by Nita

Nita What an honor it is to be your friend on Goodreads. I love your books, and I am looking forward to reading "The Guest Room."
I have been following your writing for years, and you are one of my very favorite authors.


message 16: by Phyllis

Phyllis I started reading your books with Midwives and have read everything I could get my hands on since. To list my favorites would not be a very exclusive list, but my favorite of favorites is Skeletons at the Feast. I just discovered Trans-Sister Radio, and was, once again, blown away by your extraordinary talent.
When are you coming to Nashville again? When I was at Parnassus Books recently, I made a special request for you to come to Salon@615. They pointed out that you had been here before (which I missed out of ignorance), but might come again with your next book. So, write fast!
And, thank you for all the pleasant hours of reading you have given us.


Jennifer Dear Mr Bohjalian,
I just wanted to tell you that I love reading your work. The Double Bind rocked me back on my (mental) heels. Skeletons at the Feast kicked off what would grow to be morbid fascination/disgust/rabid researching of the Holocaust, which had previously been just a small history fact gleaned from a required class in high school.
I just finished The Sandcastle Girls. I note the day I start and finish each book (because I eventually log them on goodreads, you see), and didn't realize until I read your author's note that the day I had begun reading said book on April 24, 2015, coincided with the Armenian genocide's centennial.
I don't believe in coincidences, so do with that what you will.
Thank you for taking the time to read my message, and thank you even more for diligently sharing the fruits of your craft with us readers.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Engh


message 14: by Lisa

Lisa See Chris, How fun to see you here. I'm not terribly active on GoodReads, but I try to stay a bit connected.


message 13: by Sam

Sam Chris,
I sooo wanted to see you when you come to Minneapolis July 12 but I checked with the bookstore and I can't afford the cost of the lunch etc. I hope you come again sometime when I'm more able to swing it. I really would love to meet you.


message 12: by Karen

Karen I had a dream the other night that you were doing a reading at the Taco Bell in Janesville, WI. Please don't take this as an insult. I think I just so want to go to one of your readings my mind created one. However, if you should want to come to WI I will be the first in line.


message 11: by Chris

Chris Dan wrote: "Chris
i am almost finished reading the electronic edition advance of LIGHT IN THE RUINS. Once again an example of your masterful storytelling. I love the separation of timelines and the added narra..."


Thanks so much, Dan. I really appreciate your kind words.

Looking forward to seeing you three weeks and three hours from right now!


message 10: by Dan

Dan Radovich Chris
i am almost finished reading the electronic edition advance of LIGHT IN THE RUINS. Once again an example of your masterful storytelling. I love the separation of timelines and the added narrative from the killer, a good touch. The scenes in Florence bring back memories from my trip there, even the smell of the Arno; you make me long to go back.


message 9: by Edik

Edik Baghoumian IT IS MY VERY DISTINCT PLEASURE BECOMING YOUR FRIEND INDEED APPRECIATED !!! WISHING YOU MUCH SUCCESS & HAPPINESS BUT ABOVE ALL GOOD HEALTH !!!
Your True Friend

Edik


message 8: by Chris

Chris Thanks, Susan!


message 7: by Susan

Susan Chris because, I saw your recommendation of Baker's Daughter, reading and loving, and savoring every page.


Sandra Theresa wrote: "Just wanted to say I am a big fan! Hangman was one of the scariest and most suspenseful books I've ever read! Water Witches was a great one too. I own them all and as soon as I finish the book I..."

Theresa, I found Hangman to be scary too, and I thought I had gotten to the point that things in books couldn't scare me anymore! I loved The Double Bind! I liked it even more than Secrets of Eden, & I thought it was great too!


message 5: by Matt

Matt Hoping you can make it to Nonesuch for your new book tour! Would be a huge success :D


message 4: by Matt

Matt It was wonderful meeting you yesterday here at Nonesuch! Lots of people saw your interview on '207' and have come in to buy your books.

Excited to have you here for your next release! We've got a pretty literary crowd - in fact, when you were here, one woman recognized you and was pretty starstruck! She came in again today and was gushing. haha.

Anyway, hope you're well and best of luck with your writing/touring! Enjoy your time at home (assuming you've finished the tour!)

Best,
Matty


message 3: by Keely

Keely Thanks so much for the friendship! I'm such a fan!


Eva-Marie Nevarez I was so happy to find you on here! I just got Midwives and can't wait to start- it looks great! Thanks for everything you do!


message 1: by Theresa (last edited Aug 25, 2016 02:04PM)

Theresa Just wanted to say I am a big fan! Hangman was one of the scariest and most suspenseful books I've ever read! Water Witches was a great one too. I own them all and as soon as I finish the book I'm currently reading I'll start The Double Bind. I actually chose it for my bookclub pick, I am excited to see what everyone thinks of it.


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