Customer Reviews

Dreams of Bread and Fire

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After Zabelle, I was dying to read Dreams of Bread and Fire and while at first I was a little unsure about the Paris episodes and the love affair, I was very excited by the second half of the book.
The main character, Ani, is an interesting character who seems to come alive halfway into the book. The New York episodes are particularly riveting.
The only shocking aspect (and I don't mean scary) is the ending, I hope there is a sequel because at the end it feels like the real Ani is coming of age.
The book is a good read with well-crafted prose. Kricorian finds some interesting angles, though the Paris episodes make me thankful my college years are far behind me becauase they were a little pretentious.

After coming across an interview with the author in the webzine, ..., I was sufficiently intrigued to pick up her book, Dreams of Bread and Fire. I could not put it down until I had completed it. At certain points, I grinned or even felt tears come to my eyes in recognition of some of the themes that Ms Kricorian deftly weaves into a compelling narrative--not necessarily the themes that relate specifically to Armenian history, but the universal ones of self-realization and identity, how they relate to relationships and the search for love, the need to belong and the choices inherent in one's background and "Old World" heritage.

Ms. Kricorian gives enough details to form carefully observed and vivid depictions of characters without a single wrong note; this allows for a very credible and engaging portrayal of the main character's relationships that are formed and transformed over the course of the book. Some of my favorite moments occur between the main character, Ani, and her comic-tragic grandmother (an short glossary is provided at the back of the book for added enjoyment of her colorful exclamations) and also between Ani and Sydney, the little American girl she is a nanny to in Paris. And especially when it comes to Ani's experiences with men, Ms. Kricorian accomplishes the difficult task of portraying encounters between people of differing class sensibilities and differing views of nationality and gender relations without being didactic or (a worse offense) resorting to cartoonish stereotypes. You can understand the choices that Ani makes even if you don't agree with them.

One does not need to be Armenian or even half Armenian (as the main character is) to appreciate this book--but anyone who has ever been confronted with issues of class, an "Old World" background (and implied obligations) and/or compensation for a non traditional upbringing--all the while navigating what it means to be "in love"--will find a lot to relate to in this slender but thought provoking book.

I loved Zabelle...one of the few books that I cried like a baby after reading, but this latest one left me with a feeling that it was not complete. If you liked Zabelle and have an interest in the Armenian genocide then please do yourself a big favor and read "Rise the Euphrates" as beautiful and painful book as Zabelle.