Varoujan Vosganian’s Newly Translated Book “The Book Of Whispers” Presented At The Glendale Public Library And The Museum Of Tolerance

Under the auspices of the Consulate General of the Republic of Armenia in Los Angeles and the Raffi Romanian-Armenian Cultural Association, on March 5, 2018, the Glendale Public Library hosted a book-signing event of Varujan Vosganian’s newly translated book “The Book of Whispers.” The book was recognized as the winner of the 10 best English translations of 2017. The Rev. Fr. Nerses Hayrapetyan represented the Diocesan Primate at the event.

The Museum of Tolerance was the venue of the book-signing event on Tuesday, March 6, 2018. The Diocesan Primate Archbishop Hovnan Derderian attended the event and in his remarks, noted the importance of Varujan Vosganian’s award-winning piece of literature in attesting the uncontestable historical truth that is the Armenian Genocide.     

The Book of Whispers chronicles a harrowing account of the Armenian Genocide documented through the stories of those who managed to survive and descendants who refuse to forget.

The grandchild of Armenians who escaped widespread massacres during the Ottoman Empire a century ago, Varujan Vosganian grew up in Romania hearing firsthand accounts of those who had witnessed horrific killings, burned villages, and massive deportations. In this moving chronicle of the Armenian people’s almost unimaginable tragedy, the author transforms true events into a work of fiction firmly grounded in survivor testimonies and historical documentation.
 
Across Syrian desert refugee camps, Russian tundra, and Romanian villages, the book chronicles individual lives destroyed by ideological and authoritarian oppression. But this novel tells an even wider human story. Evocative of all the great sufferings that afflicted the twentieth century—world wars, concentration camps, common graves, statelessness, and others—this book belongs to all peoples whose voices have been lost. Hailed for its documentary value and sensitive authenticity, Vosganian’s work has become an international phenomenon.

Varujan Vosganian is a Romanian author and Prime-Vice President of the Union of Writers in Romania. He has been a member of Parliament since 1990 and was Minister of Economy and Finance. The Book of Whispers has been translated into more than twenty languages; it is his first translation into English. Alistair Ian Blyth is a British translator of Romanian, French, and Latin.