War is nothing but a continuation of politics with the admixture of other means,” one of the great writers of realpolitik Karl Von Clausewitz once said.
Not many in the present day generation know about the blood-tainted history of Armenian genocide, Ottoman government’s systematic extermination of its minority Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks in the early decades of the 19th century. The never-ending cycle of conflicts and tumultuous events in the Middle East had ruined or destroyed the lives of millions of people. The human sufferings followed by these clashes were immeasurable and it has become fodder for a few books in the past. The latest among is Gray Wolves and White Doves by debutant novelist John D Balian.
Gray Wolves… is a less-known tale of the history of Armenian Christians who try to defend their identity in a very complex world. A young boy’s search for truth and his journey from a remote village at Anatolia in Diyarbekir, Turkey, to a grimy dark basement in Istanbul, a seminary in the Armenian quarter of Jeruselam, the holy city through Bavaria and Sweden and finally to Paris and the United States where he starts a new life.
The author’s coming-of-age story also deals with the minefield of politics in the Middle East, the cycle of retaliatory violence that threatens to extinguish a life, a family, and even an entire race at the altar of political exigency. Rooted in the author’s own experiences, the book is a powerful testimony to the triumphing human spirit, despite all odds.
The story, in the early chapters, throws light on the ancient rituals and generation-old traditions of an Armenian family living in a rural setting. Destiny can be cruel sometimes; the harvest season turns gory for them; children lost their mother when they try to cross the Syrian border. The family barely recovers from the tragic loss, but finally unconquerable human spirit has the last laugh, no matter how difficult the circumstances. The protagonist, Jonah is a family man; the fate forces him to shift to the holy city of Jerusalem with his brothers for seminary studies. Scattering of the family worries Jonah, but he didn’t lose hope for a better tomorrow and the hope comes in the form of sponsor, a generous US woman. With an engaging storyline, the book hints that persecution of minorities anywhere in the world was carried out in the name of ‘justice’. The book interweaves the complexity of the politics and common human dilemma. Gray Wolves and White Doves may remind the reader many real-life tales of oppression and onslaught and the ongoing Palestinian -Israel conflict, Arab Spring and the civil war in Syria. An interesting read for those who like fiction woven around history.