Can These Bones Live?
A Novel of the Armenian Massacres of 1915 and of ISIS Today
by
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We crossed the street, and I knocked at the door. Someone pulled the white curtain in the window near the door and peeped out. Soon after, a barefoot woman wearing a long dress and a bright yellow covering over her head opened the door. She looked to me to be in her forties.
“I am sorry to disturb you,” Ashti began in Turkish, “but my American cousin and I would like to ask you some questions about your house. We think that it once belonged to our great-great-grandfather.”
The woman became flustered. “No, it is not this house. It has belonged to my husband’s family for many generations,” she replied.
I opened the file folder to the picture showing Garabed’s parents standing in the same doorway that all three of us were standing in now. I pointed to the house and to the picture and said in Turkish, “Same house.”
“It is our house, and it always has been,” the woman repeated.
Ashti reassured her. “Oh, we know it is your house now, and we are certainly not trying to claim it. All we want to learn is its history since my cousin is writing a book about our family.”
“My husband is not at home. Maybe you should come back later and talk to him.”
As she started to close the door, I heard a man’s voice in the background saying in Turkish. “Kismet, invite them in and offer them some tea. I want to talk with them.”
The woman hesitated, but then opened the door and motioned us in with her head.
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About the Book
Peter Johnson, a twenty-nine year old aspiring international correspondent and novelist, travels to Turkey in 2014 to research his Turkish, Armenian, and Syriac ancestors who were both perpetrators and victims of the 1915 massacres and deportations in that country. Using the vivid memoir of his great-grandmother as a guide, Peter teams up with his beautiful Muslim cousin, Ashti Kaya, to follow the route of his ancestors’ deportation through Turkey and Syria to their final safety in America. Along the way, Peter and Ashti learn much about the history of their families and of the region and become embroiled in the rescue of Armenian and Syriac Christians from ISIS in war-torn Syria. Profoundly affected by his experiences, Peter comes to realize that his ancestors’ capacity for good and evil is also mirrored within himself.
“…A timely book that gives a ring-true picture of the fate of five generations of an Armenian family after deportation. The suspenseful story is both provocative and insightful and is a must-read for travelers and students.” —Hank Ackerman, former Associated Press International Correspondent and Bureau ChiefAbout the Author
Tom Frist has spent much of his life promoting the health, relief, rehabilitation, and economic development of people in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. He is the author of six books and has co-founded several nonprofits. Tom and his wife, Clare, have two children and divide their time between their home in North Carolina and their farm in Brazil. More information about him, his organizations, and his other books can be found at his website, tomfrist.com.