Rise the Euphrates [Hardcover]

Carol Edgarian (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 29, 1994

A modern-day Armenian-American girl, Seta Loon finds herself caught between her grandmother, a survivor of the Turkish massacre of Armenians, and her mother, and struggling with her own feelings of conflict and alienation. A first novel. 75,000 first printing. $75,000 ad/promo. Tour.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Is it better to embrace an agonizing past, or to put it aside at the risk of losing one's ethnic identity? Edgarian's strong-voiced first novel embodies this painful question in the story of three generations of powerful women. Casard comes to America after losing her parents and brother during the 1915 massacre of Armenians by the Turks. Overwhelmed by survivor's guilt, she clings to her native land's traditions and is enraged when her daughter Araxie marries a non-Armenian. At the center of the two women's wrenching struggle is Araxie's daughter Seta, who must ultimately balance her Armenian and American identities, discharging debts to both her mother and her grandmother. The author argues convincingly that our strongest relationships are established on a level beyond words or rational thought. While perhaps too reliant on the mystical transmission of knowledge (Casard whispers the secrets of her past to the infant Seta at her baptism), the narrative believably renders conflicts and deep affection among parents and children, lovers, husbands and wives. Largely inarticulate male characters lack the women's depth and passion, and the need to provide historical background occasionally leads to clumsy passages. These are relatively small faults, however, in a novel that is a valuable addition to American immigrant literature. Author tour.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

This lyrical first novel examines three generations of Armenian American women alternately united and divided by the burdens of history as the narrative moves from early 20th-century Turkey to suburban Connecticut in the 1990s. Grandmother Casard Essayan, who alone of her family survived the 1915 Turkish massacre of Armenians, carries a burden of guilt that drives her daughter Araxie into a marriage with a non-Armenian, George Loon. Araxie's love-hate relationship with her mother fills her with inchoate longing echoed in her daughter, Seta, whose destiny beckons her to relieve her grandmother's guilt and to find the fulfillment that her mother lacks. Weaving these three lives together with the mythic and commonplace dimensions of Armenian life, this novel works as an acute study of mother-daughter relations, a paean to an often overlooked ethnic group in America, and a sensitive coming-of-age story. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 12/93.
- Andrea Caron Kempf, Johnson Cty. Community Coll. Lib., Overland Park, Kan.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 370 pages
• Publisher: Random House; 1st edition (March 29, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679426019
• ISBN-13: 978-0679426011
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,025,145 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Carol Edgarian is an author, editor, and publisher. Her novels include Three Stages of Amazement and the best-selling Rise the Euphrates, hailed by the Washington Post as "a book whose generosity of spirit, intelligence, humanity, and finally ambition are what literature ought to be and rarely is today." Her articles and essays have appeared in many national magazines, and she coedited the popular collection drawn from great writers' diaries,The Writer's Life: Intimate Thoughts on Work, Love, Inspiration, and Fame.

In 2003, Edgarian and her husband, editor and writer Tom Jenks, founded Narrative Magazine (www.NarrativeMagazine.com), the leading digital source for storytelling--publishing more than three hundred artists each year--and Narrative in the Schools, a program to encourage reading and writing in schools across America.

Edgarian lives in San Francisco with her husband and their three daughters.

Learn more about Carol and her work at www.caroledgarian.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unforgettable!!, June 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Rise the Euphrates (Hardcover)

My boss's father, who is Armenian, loaned me this book two years ago and I found it to be one of the most unforgettable novels I've ever read. I read an average of 2 to 4 novels a month and most of them get donated to our local library when I'm finished (including most of Oprah's picks). Few books merit a permanent home in my personal library but this will certainly be one of them. Unfortunately, it is out of print and now I'm desperately trying to locate a copy. The first chapter was one of the most emotionally painful & horrific reads I've ever encountered. I'll never forget the characters of this book or their collective experiences that span three generations. This book must have a second printing... and Oprah, you have GOT to read this one.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars this book is realistic...says this odar, November 20, 2010

By 

jcc - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rise the Euphrates (Hardcover)

i am guessing anyone that rates this book terribly low does not know any armenians personally and knows little or nothing about the genocide as well. i can tell you that i married into an aremenian (and greek) chicago family in 1999. this book does capture quite a bit of the fascinating, interesting, and entertaining nature of the armenians in america. reading the author's account of a second generation armenian growing up in the 1970's -i assume 1970's-was pretty right on and a fun and thoughtful read. not only a great snapshot of this 1970's family (and its history before) but a horrific glimpse of the genocide that continues to hover over these people (in the past indeed, yet always there.) why anyone decides they can or should annihilate any other person or specific race/nationality is beyond comprehension...luckily people like this author are here today to laugh, cry, decipher and share their unbelievable story. i am certain all aremenians who were born in america since the genocide can relate to this book...especially the women.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read!, July 29, 2010

By 

Reader101 "RAK4686" (Stanford, CA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Rise the Euphrates (Hardcover)

One of my all-time favorite reads. I have no Armenian connection (and not much previous knowledge of Armenian lit), but fell in love with this book for its story--a weaving together of the ups and downs of family, firsts, growth, love. It is a gift to readers who want to dive into a story that is filled with heart and with hope, and are looking for those moments in writing that leave you speechless. Highly recommend!