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Armen Melikian

Goodreads Author

Website

http://www.JourneyToVirginland.com

Twitter

ArmenMelikian

Genre

Fiction, Contemporary

Member Since

January 2011

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Armen Melikian (b. 1963) holds a Master's in International Relations from American University, Washington, D.C. He has also studied mathematics at Harvard and elsewhere, and was admitted by the Mathematical Institute of Oxford University. However, he eventually abandoned both politics and mathematics in favor of literature and dedicated his life to writing.

In 2002, Melikian repatriated to Armenia from the United States and for two years studied the Armenian epic tradition. He also compiled his observations on post-Soviet Armenian society which provided the raw material for his epistolary novel, Journey to Virginland. His manuscripts were obtained by the National Security Service (formerly the KGB) triggering his effective exile from Armenia Armen Melikian (b. 1963) holds a Master's in International Relations from American University, Washington, D.C. He has also studied mathematics at Harvard and elsewhere, and was admitted by the Mathematical Institute of Oxford University. However, he eventually abandoned both politics and mathematics in favor of literature and dedicated his life to writing.

In 2002, Melikian repatriated to Armenia from the United States and for two years studied the Armenian epic tradition. He also compiled his observations on post-Soviet Armenian society which provided the raw material for his epistolary novel, Journey to Virginland. His manuscripts were obtained by the National Security Service (formerly the KGB) triggering his effective exile from Armenia. His wife was interrogated at the headquarters of the NSS and was threatened with prosecution for "treason against Armenia" should she fail to cooperate--and threatened with assassination by a member of the interrogating team should she continue her newspaper column where she had recently introduced Melikian's literary work. The NSS also invaded the premises of the National Public Radio of Armenia with the intention to arrest a prominent journalist minutes before a program by him was to air on Melikian's work.

After a decade of unabated persecution and national ostracism accompanied with several hundred assassination threats (including by high-ranking government officials) incited largely by the Armenian Church and condoned through a conspiracy of silence by Armenian political and cultural institutions worldwide, as well as so-called "human rights" and literary organizations, Melikian renounced all ties to the Armenian nation, culture, literature, language, and identity. He currently lives in Los Angeles.

Melikian is one of those rare thinkers whose intensity of passion matches their sharp wit and intellect. His poignant observations take to task the core tenets of meta-ideologies and jockeying civilizations, helping to discard layer after layer of entrenched misinformation and dogma.

Melikian brings a fresh, prodigiously layered voice to contemporary literature, not only expanding the boundaries of the novelistic endeavor as an artistic medium per se, but infusing it with extraordinary urgency and relevance in terms of sociopolitical, cultural, religious, and philosophical thought as well as mythological exegesis.

Given its prescient vision of the shape of things to come, Melikian’s novel has been compared by critics to some of the masterpieces of contemporary literature, among them the politically explosive works of George Orwell. It has also been compared to Gurdjieff's Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson, and even to the book of Revelation. ...more

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Armen Melikian’s books

Average rating: 3.15 · 88 ratings · 56 reviews · 4 distinct works

	Journey to Virginland: CATENA 3.21 avg rating — 82 ratings — published 2011 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Expraedium 2.60 avg rating — 5 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Journey to Virginland: Epistle 1 did not like it 1.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Viaje a Virgenia 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Edition withdrawn from publication

The edition "Journey to Virginland: Catena" that was scheduled for a November 2013 publication date has been withdrawn by the author from publication. There are no printed copies of this book on the market or anywhere else for that matter. The copies listed by various sellers are all Advance Reader Copies. Some readers still prefer to read this edition given the fact that this is the latest one. T Read more of this blog post »

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