The Fool: Events from the Last Russo-Turkish War (1877–78)
translated from Armenian and introduced by Donald Abcarian
Gomidas Institute, 2021,
238 pages, map, glossary
ISBN 978-1-909382-56-5, pb.
Price: UK£18.00 / US$22.00
To order please contact books@gomidas.org
Set in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78, The Fool opens on a rocky mountain slope where two imperial armies clash in the dark of night for control of a strategic fortress, and the reader is plunged into the heat of battle.
But soon the focus shifts to earlier more tranquil days, when Armenian villages tucked away in little valleys went about their age-old routine, prospering warily beneath the snow-capped summits of Armenia. It is in this setting that Raffi summons his mastery of ethnographic detail to open the doors on every theme relevant to the lives of their inhabitants and we hear their impassioned discussions trailing off into the summer night.
Arguably the single most important work of fiction dealing with the Armenian Question, The Fool is an account of the protracted struggle to replace Ottoman tyranny with a just secular order and the rule of law. It is an account of the heroism involved in protecting the lives and elemental human rights of ordinary Armenians from the avarice of Ottoman officials, the depredations of neighboring peoples, and the cool indifference of a corrupt Armenian elite.
The elevated diction of the narrative, the Armenian aphorisms that enliven the dialogue, the presence of actual historical figures in the plot all make The Fool an encounter with one of the most creative minds in modern Armenian history.
About the author
Raffi (né Hakob Melik-Hakobian) was born in 1835 in Bayajuk, near Salmas, in northwestern Persia. He died in Tiflis in 1888. He was a prolific and popular writer who contributed to Krikor Ardzrouni’s Tiflis-based liberal periodical, Mshak (Cultivator). Among his other principal works of fiction are Jalaleddin, Gharib Mshetsi (The exile from Moush), Khachagoghi Hishatakarane (The diary of a cross-stealer), Kaitzer (Sparks), Davit Bek, and Samuel.
Raffi (né Hakob Melik-Hakobian) was born in 1835 in Bayajuk, near Salmas, in northwestern Persia. He died in Tiflis in 1888. He was a prolific and popular writer who contributed to Krikor Ardzrouni’s Tiflis-based liberal periodical, Mshak (Cultivator). Among his other principal works of fiction are Jalaleddin, Gharib Mshetsi (The exile from Moush), Khachagoghi Hishatakarane (The diary of a cross-stealer), Kaitzer (Sparks), Davit Bek, and Samuel.
About the translator
Donald Abcarian was born and raised in Fresno, California, where his family was part of the extensive Armenian-American community that has settled there since the turn of the last century. His earliest influences, including the Armenian language, derived from that milieu. He graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a degree in philosophy and has pursued a lifelong interest in languages and world literature. His translations also include Raffi’s Jalaleddin and The Golden Rooster.