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61 of 68 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A universal story "writ large", June 17, 2000
"Not Even My Name" is an extraordinarily powerful book that forced me to understand the Pontic, Assyrian, and Armenian genocides it describes in individual, human terms. After all, it's much easier to distance oneself from a holocaust than from the individuals who are its victims. In addition, the book has provided me with an important analog to the history of my own family, Greek Jews, many of whom suffered their own holocaust. I intend to read this book with one of my classes, not only because it is a fine piece of literature, but also because it will remind us in a very compelling way how foolish it is to try to prove that one holocaust was bigger or more important than another. We all suffer from the "It's my dead rat" syndrome, a foolishness this book exposes fearlessly. Equally important, the structure of the book, framed by a double odyssey and complex exodus, provides the experiences of the author, Thea Halo, and her mother, Sano, nee Themia, with just the right context to make the journey very worthwhile for the reader as well as for its two main characters. Halo's descriptions are beautifully drawn, and her inferences are understated, which is what makes them so powerful. This is a universal story "writ large" and passionately. It took me almost no time to see that it is also my story, placed in a different context, but one that I could recognize easily, in small ways as well as large. How fascinating, for instance, to discover that the Pontic Christians celebrated Easter with egg-breaking contests almost identical to the Greek-Jewish tradition during the Passover Seders. The book is extremely well written and incredibly moving. I broke down and wept quite often as it drew me into the lives, the joys and tragedies, the incredible bravery of people we shamefully know almost nothing about; yet the cause of my tears was never the result of mere sentimentality or sensationalism. The bare facts themselves, powerfully recounted, are enough to make any reader weep for "Man's inhumanity to man," even as Sano, a character with her own imperfections, whose very name has been obliterated, triumphs over adversity, little by little; and reminds us that we can overcome even senseless acts of mass violence and our own dark side by following the example she sets of unending kindnesses and care for the "Family of People."
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38 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A beautifully written book about the horrors of genocide, June 8, 2000
A must-read for all those interested in the history of modern Turkey. The genocide inflicted against the Christian inhabitants of Turkey -- Greeks, Assyrians and Armenians -- have had long-term ramifications that exist to this day. Reading Thea's story of her courageous mother reminded me of similar experiences that my Assyrian grandmothers and Armenian mother-in-law endured. Many thanks to Thea Halo for sharing her mother Sano's story of survival and providing the rest of the world with a true account of life under Ataturk.
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27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
READ THIS BOOK, August 10, 2000
Following the First World War, the government of Turkey, under the leadership of Gamel Ataturk, established a campaign of, which we in our modern usage call, ethnic cleansing. The goal of this government was "Turkey for the Turks." They set out to rid Turkey of non-Turkish ethnic groups which included the Armenians, Greeks (which included the Pontians, Ionians, and Kappadokians), and Assyrians. This campaign succeeded in eliminating, by means of death marches, massacre, murder -- genocide -- 1.5 million Armenians, 750,000 Assyrians, 360,000 Pontian Greeks. Many more survivors of this genocide went into exile in Syria, Russia, and some in the United States.Changing time and place, Thea Halo successfully tells the story of one individual who lived through and survived the uprooting of her family and people who were forced on a death march from their homes in the north of the country, eventually into Syria. This survivor, through a series of serendipitous events, wound up in New York City, finally safe from the persecutions of the Turkish leadership. She gave birth to 10 children, one of whom is the author of "Not Even My Name."Ms. Halo has accomplished one of the great values of life. She has honored her ancestors and kept their spirits and history alive. She has honored her mother Sano (Themia) even during her lifetime. Thea's mother, never forgot her family and her life in their Turkish home. Very quietly she would say their names over and over to herself. These memories are her treasure. Sano can have peace and pride that her story, and the stories of her people, have been added to the volumes of our human history. Honor is given, as well, to the tragedy and barbarity of Themia's early life and the success achieved by hard work, dedication and love given with the freedom and opportunity Sano found in her new life and home.Recently, during a book signing at a local Barnes & Noble, the senior Ms. Halo was asked why, after such pain and misery inflicted on her via the death march and the deprivation she suffered after her escape from the march she held no anger, no resentment, that could have damaged her later in her life Her response was that she believed in the beauty of life. That she never forgot her family. Although living in New York and raising a family with 10 children, was by no means easy she could pass on to her children her beliefin life's goodnessThea Halo has also claimed her own self. She now knows where her spirit comes from. She has publicly announced who she is and what she is founded on. Her life experience is one of the first generation New World Americans. Like many of us we have wondered w life was like in our parent's "old world" societies. What are we a continuity of? Thea has found these things for herself, and we as new Americans can learn from what she experiences in her found self. We learn that our New World experience is part of a continuity. Most importantly we learn that we don't have to make the same "old world" mistakes. We too can believe in the goodness of life, and making the most of the opportunities we create.I strongly recommend that this book be on one's priority reading list.
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