ARLINGTON, Mass. — Of all the republics of the Soviet Union, Armenia had the most difficult birth. The devastating earthquake of 1988, followed by the Karabakh conflict and economic collapse, left a lasting scar on the psyche of the nation which continues to this day. The devastating impact of these calamities have left their mark and reflection on all aspects of people’s lives, culture, arts and literature in particular.
To Go on Living by acclaimed writer, Narine Abgaryan is one such work. A fascinating collection of 31 linked short stories set in an Armenian mountain village immediately after the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the early 1990s, it captures the trials and tribulations of her compatriots during the early years of the fledgling homeland.
The book, traces the interconnected lives of villagers tending to their everyday tasks, engaging in quotidian squabbles, and celebrating small joys against a breathtaking landscape. Yet the setting, suspended in time and space, belies unspeakable tragedy: every character contends with an unbearable burden of loss.
“Writing about war,” Abgaryan writes, “is like destroying your hope, like looking death in the face without looking away, because, if you do, you will betray yourself.” The war rages largely off the book’s pages, appearing only in fragmented flashbacks. Abgaryan’s stories focus on how, in the war’s aftermath, the survivors work, as individuals and as a community, to find a way forward. Written in Abgaryan’s style which weaves elements of Armenian folk tradition into her prose, these stories of community, courage, and resilience celebrate human life, where humor, love and hope prevail in unthinkable circumstances.
Abgaryan, a writer, novelist and blogger, was born in Berd, in the Tavush Province, Armenia. She is a graduate of Yerevan Brusov University of Languages, majoring in Russian language and literature teaching. One of her early works Manuynya, an autobiographical novel, received the Manuscript of the Year Russian national literary award. A trilogy of Manyunya followed shortly after and was staged by SamArt Youth Theatre, Russia. In 2021, filming for a TV adaptation of Manyunya began, and in 2023, work began on an animated adaptation of Manyunya by Sarik Andreasyan.
In 2011, Abgaryan was the Laureate of Yasnaya Polyana Literary Award, Russia, in 2016. Her Simeon Andreich, Manuscript in Scrawls– illustrated by Victoria Kirdiy was published in 2012. In 2014, her Chocolate Granddad, the only book that she calls a children’s book, was published, co-authored with Valentin Postnikov. In August 2015, Abgaryan was called one of two laureates of the Alexander Grin Literature Award “for her outstanding contribution to the national literature development”.
