An Armenian Trilogy [Paperback]

William Saroyan (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

These plays, previously unpublished, all center on what it means to be an Armenian in the 20th century. Only Armenians has been produced. In 1921 Fresno, Saroyan's hometown, characters discuss the Armenian issue, then of immediate concern. In Bitlis Saroyan and his traveling companions reexamine the issue on his first trip back to the Saroyan family home in 1964. Haratch is set in the offices of an Armenian newspaper in 1979 Paris. In these most undramatic of plays, the dialogue is rhetorical, the plot nonexistent, and the subject matter narrowly focused; they are more Socratic dialogues than dramas. They will be of interest primarily to Saroyan devotees and those of Armenian heritage. Stephen A. Fulchino, Medford P.L., Mass.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Univ California State Pr at (September 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 091220107X
• ISBN-13: 978-0912201078
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,377,064 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Saroyan was a major voice in American Literature, February 9, 1998

By 

Stephen T. Barile (Fowler, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Armenian Trilogy (Hardcover)

review of: William Saroyan, An Armenian Trilogy, edited by Dickran Kouymjian William Saroyan (1908-1981) was a major voice in American literature during the 1930's and 40's. He had a brief influence on theatre, with his Pulitzer-prize winning play, "The Time of Your Life," in 1940, and other lesser plays. He wrote and produced several others, then fell into obscurity as a playwright. The "Armenian Trilogy," edited by Dickran Kouymjian, marks a departure in play writing for Saroyan, from theatrics to introspection. The three plays contained in this volume are the most "Armenian" of his writings. "Armenians," the first play, is about countrymen in diaspora, in Fresno, CA in 1921, six years after the last round of atrocities by the Turks against Armenians. Saroyan deals with regional stereotypes and larger issues of diaspora. "Bitlis," is a one-act play that features Bill Saroyan, the Armenian-American writer and his pilgrimage to his ancestral home in what was once Armenia. "Haratch," the most political of the three, Saroyan takes the stage in a visit to the Armenian daily newspaper in Paris. As strong as the plays, is Kouymjian's brilliant introduction that provides the perceptive explanation of Saroyan, the writer and the Armenian. The book is a necessity for fans of his dramatic works and those that enjoy the writings of William Saroyan, the "Buffalo Bill, " of American letters. -Y. Stephan Bulbulian, Fowler, CA