Book Review: The Road from Home

Title: The Road from Home

Author: David Kherdian

published: 1979

Genre: Biography

"David Kherdian re-creates his mother's voice in telling the true story of a childhood interrupted by one of the most devastating holocausts of our century. Veron Dumehjian Kherdian was born into a loving and prosperous family. Then, in the year 1915, the Turkish gobernment began the systematic destruction of its Armenian population." - the back of the the book

This book is one of the saddest books I have ever read. So many people die. I often wished through out the whole book that I could change history. I think what made this book more sad for me was that many of the characters were real people, who were really there. This book disturbed me a lot too. I was thinking all the time how on earth could people possible be so cruel to other people? It is so hared to imagine for me that anyone would want to kill another person so much. How can someone hate some one without any reason?

I love stories that take place around real things that happened, and when the story is a real person I am much more interested. The story is well, written, I was only a little confused about who was related to who, an who lived where in the beginning. It was very hard to put the book down, you wanted to know what would happen, and if she would escape. There where lots of times what you wanted to cry in the book because of what was happening. It didn't help that I was sick when I was reading it. With the way it was written I felt like I was walking through the whole thing with Veron.

One of the things that stood out to me was how people helped each other. They watched out for each other. It was very touching. People worked together to get out of the horror they where in. They would share their food. It reminded me of Christ.

The book is a little violent, but I think that would be expected, and I really don't think you can tell a story like this, and get away with out putting in some of the violence. I think it brings the story even more to life. It really tells about what happened to the Armenians.

I have always thought that is sounds really weird to say that a supper sad book is one of your favorite books. Well despite this being a really sad book it is one of my favorites. I think that is because it is a true story, and I didn't know about the Armenian extermination. I might have had a vague awarness of it, but I really didn't know about it. Now I know and I will never forget. I gained very strong feelings for not forgetting. Here is the reason why...

"I have given orders to my Death Units to exterminate without mercy or pity men, women, and children belonging to the polish-speaking race. It is only in this manner that we can acquire the vital territory which we need. After all, who remembers to day the extermination of the Armenians?" -Adolf Hitler

(I have put in italics the part that I wish to emphasis)

This quote chills me to the bone! Not just because it is Hitler, and Hitler gives me chills in general, but because of what it is that he is saying. He is saying that it is alright to kill the Polish, because no one remembers what the Turks did the Armenians. It is really horrifying! It makes me feel strongly that we need to remember these people, and what happened to them. So that in the future we can stop something like this from happening again.

Some books feel like they are trying to bring History to life, other like they are just telling a story, and then the ones that tell to remember. This one is to remember.

Blessings

~Elizabeth