Customer Reviews

Ravished Armenia and the Story of Aurora Mardiganian

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This book is truly interesting. It explains how an Armenian Genocide survivor's memoir was turned into a motion picture in 1919, a year or two after her arrival to the United States. The beginning of the book explains the whole movie production process, and even lists reviews given at the time of its showing. The movie apparently was very popular in 1919, however all copies of it seem to have been lost. However, the book has about 6 still photos from the movie. The bulk of the book is simply a reprint of Aurora Mardiganian's account of living through the Armenian Genocide. It is amazing, sad, sickening. This is an extremely excellent book for anyone knowing little about the Armenian Genocide, and an original and interesting one for those more familiar with the subject.

I have read many of the books written by survivors of the Armenian genocide carried out by Turkey, and this is by far the best of them all. Aurora Mardigian (her name was subsequently changed by "Hollywood") was 14 when her story began, and what makes this book the best is also what makes it the worst: she gives many specific examples of how Turks murdered and tortured Armenians, told quite dispassionately but in no less horrifying terms.
I've already bought copies to give to my brother and sister, even at its high price, because it's worth every cent, and so that all will KNOW what the Armenian people went through at the hands of the still-denying Turks.
Those who don't know what Armenia and her people are about will also learn the true nature and identity of our wonderful culture, and all that it emcompassed both in early times as well as currently.

As a book, "Ravished Armenia" delivered more than I expected. Film author Anthony Slide providers readers with a short essay on the 1919 film "Ravished Armenia", a lost silent film based on the story of Aurora Mardiganian, a survivor of the Armenian genocide. In the essay, Slide describes Mardiganian's exploitation by film makers and even symptoms of post traumatic stress she endured. The film itself featured an odd combination of being used to raise charitable funds and make audiences aware of the terrible fate of the Armenians in WWI Turkey and on the other side it was argueably exploiting cruelty to draw in audiences. For its time, the film was quite successful and fairly controversial for its violence. Slide also includes a number of photographs from the film and even a list of captions for the film.

The real power of this book is actually the reprint of Mardiganian's powerful memoir of the genocide titled "Ravished Armenia." Her story is frankly gut wrenching and powerful. While not accurate in every detail (some of the violence was apparently toned down a little from real life for example), the story is never the less a riveting tale of faith, loss, hope, and man's inhumanity to man. This is the story of a fourteen year old who saw her family practically annilihated by the end, experienced violations and cruelty, survived massacres and death marches, and yet found the strenght to carry on. There are many scenes that may stay with you if you read this short volume. Perhaps it will be the "game of swords" or the torture of an Armenian priest. Or perhaps it was the two sisters who realized they had renounced their faith to save a relative who died anyway and decided not to make the mistake again even if it cost them their lives (it did

). Yes, there are the stories of kindness here from some sympathetic Turks to the monks who hid genocide survivors and gave their lives trying to protect them. Then there are the acts of cruelty which can make one shudder. The argueably most famous scene in both the book and film (and most controversial scene in the later) is likely the scene outside Malatia where Aurora witnesses a row of crucified Armenian girls. The essay preceeding the reprint explains that even this scene was toned down from what Mardiganian actually saw. Even when Aurora escapes from the Turkish controlled areas, she is still not completely out of the woods because she goes to Petrograd Russia as violence and turmoil sweep the streets. Aurora conveys an epic human tragedy though the eyes of youth, despair, hope, and Christian faith. The end result is a fascinating but at times brutal read. I recommend it with caution. This work is not for everyone.

Oh, I should point out that since this book was written, there has indeed been part of the movie version found. A reel approximately 20 minutes long (over 1/5 of the original) was discovered.

I think a lot could be said about this book as it is a very important document about the armenian genocide. What Anthony slide added is a personal introduction about the person who shared what she experienced throughout the horrible time of 1915. In it he puts what Aurora or in her own language Arshalys experienced in the US, and it shows the lack of sensitivity against a genocide victim as Arshalys was exploited in Hollywood and at Public appearances for marketing interests. Even her salaries were used for other purposes at times. So much for Anthony Slide's extra-pages that show a short biography of the Aurora after her migration to the US, her family life and her death in the 1990s. Slide got all the information shortly before Arshalys died when he made an interview with her and put it on Video-tape and I hope this interview will one day be on DVD or any other media.

As for the main part of the book "Ravished Armenia" there are other reviews one can use. I just put in short what happens and what it is about: It begins with the time before the armenian genocide happens. It shows her family, and especially her sister who is about to marry. Arshalys herself is about 14 and has a good education in Europe in front of her. When the genocide rolls over them the men and some of the boys fall victim to slaughter outside their village in Tschemesch-Gezak. Then the remaining families are forced to go on a death march, and while sexually assaulted in most brutal ways again and again the remaining few reach Urfa. Shortly afterwards Arshalys must see the slaughter of all her remaining family in front of her eyes which is done to forcefully convert her. But somebody helps her escape through war-torn Russia during the Red Revolution. I strongly recommend this book as a historic account, but for weak nerves it is a torture to read what was done to the weakest, the women and children. The general theme of this book, the armenian genocide, is a key to understand the tenor of what should happen later during the Holocaust.