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Bone Ash Sky
BONE ASH SKY is the sweeping story of an American journalist who goes home to unravel four generations of war and genocide, love and renewal, in Turkish Armenia and modern-day Lebanon.
When Anoush Pakradounian steps off a boat and feels Levantine heat on her cheek like a caress, she thinks she knows where she's going: she thinks she knows who's right and who's wrong.
Yet nothing about her family's past is black and white. In 1915 one million Armenians were marched into Syria by Turks and killed in the first genocide of the twentieth century. In 1982 Beirut came under siege for three months and 18,000 civilians died, while another 30,000 were wounded.
Anoush's quest for answers is interwoven with the memory of ruined cities and vanished empires: Lake Van before the genocide, Beirut in civil war, Ottoman villas and desecrated churches, Palestinian refugee camps and torture chambers turned into nightclubs. Her search to find out the truth about her father, her grandparents and her own place in the story spans four generations and massive upheavals in the Middle East.
With echoes of Barbara Kingsolver's THE POISONWOOD BIBLE, Thomas Keneally’s SCHINDLER’S LIST and Geraldine Brooks' THE PEOPLE OF THE BOOK, BONE ASH SKY is a powerful work that examines family, loyalty, love and secrets long-hidden in the horror of war and displacement.
When Anoush Pakradounian steps off a boat and feels Levantine heat on her cheek like a caress, she thinks she knows where she's going: she thinks she knows who's right and who's wrong.
Yet nothing about her family's past is black and white. In 1915 one million Armenians were marched into Syria by Turks and killed in the first genocide of the twentieth century. In 1982 Beirut came under siege for three months and 18,000 civilians died, while another 30,000 were wounded.
Anoush's quest for answers is interwoven with the memory of ruined cities and vanished empires: Lake Van before the genocide, Beirut in civil war, Ottoman villas and desecrated churches, Palestinian refugee camps and torture chambers turned into nightclubs. Her search to find out the truth about her father, her grandparents and her own place in the story spans four generations and massive upheavals in the Middle East.
With echoes of Barbara Kingsolver's THE POISONWOOD BIBLE, Thomas Keneally’s SCHINDLER’S LIST and Geraldine Brooks' THE PEOPLE OF THE BOOK, BONE ASH SKY is a powerful work that examines family, loyalty, love and secrets long-hidden in the horror of war and displacement.
480 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2013
10 people are currently reading
153 people want to read
About the author
Katerina Cosgrove
4 books6 followersKaterina's first novel THE GLASS HEART was published in Aust/NZ by HarperCollins and in translation in Greece. Her novella INTIMATE DISTANCE, was one of the winners of the Griffith Review/CAL Novella Prize in 2012. Her new novel, BONE ASH SKY, is set during the Armenian genocide, Lebanese civil war and present-day Beirut, and will be published in May by Hardie Grant in Australia, and in the UK in July. Katerina has been a bookseller and university tutor. Now she writes full-time and swims every day - even through the winter.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
May 16, 2013
My View:
For once I am speechless, words fail me. I cannot describe how incredibly good this book was to read – the prose so beautiful, the descriptions so eloquent and elegant and then...horrific. Cosgrove is a true storyteller - a master of words, of delicate prose and a teller of three dimensional stories; I could feel the silk, I could see the light refracted in the tulip shaped tumblers ( p.39 ) I can see and hear the death train (p.117) “There was an unfocused brutality in its movements in the sickening, shrill sound of wheels grinding on tracks...People started to scream; at least, those who were still well enough to expend the energy did. She screamed with them. The mechanical movement so final. It was more terrifying than anything else, this fiery beast that held them in its belly.” Echoes of the Holocaust.
I felt the sadness and despair as Lilit tried to think of a way to help the woman with the crying baby p. 117 “She knew the woman’s milk had dried up, knew the baby would soon die. But there was nothing she could do. She thought of latching the baby to her own small breasts, praying milk would come in sympathy, but, somehow, she was too tired. Too sleepy. Too indifferent. Too afraid of what the Turks might do again if they saw her.” Such hopelessness and despair. Such pain. Then... p.119 “Lilit saw the mother make for a well with the bundle of concealed baby under her arm. She was shaking now, her head jerking from side to side like a hen’s, the movement of her legs spasmodic....In an instant of despair, she dropped her baby like a wishing stone into the well. He would bring her good fortune. He cried too much. She was too tired to carry him anymore. There was no milk left to give him. She wanted him to drown, have a swifter, easier death.” So emotional, so real, so much pain, so much hopelessness.
It is the hopelessness that struck me more than anything. Having no choices. No existence. The endless cycle of violence based on nothing more than superstition, history, and prior bloodshed. Where no lessons learned?
Cosgrove states in the opening pages of this novel, “The historic circumstances in this novel are real. Many of the characters are not. This is a work of fiction and liberties have been taken with some dates, events and places.
The author does not seek to blame, defame or offend any race, creed or culture for their beliefs or their past and present actions. There are no villains in this story - and no heroes either.”
Such a poignant and remarkable multi-layered expose of society – past and present. What has changed? Not a lot. Truly sad, moving and memorable.
For once I am speechless, words fail me. I cannot describe how incredibly good this book was to read – the prose so beautiful, the descriptions so eloquent and elegant and then...horrific. Cosgrove is a true storyteller - a master of words, of delicate prose and a teller of three dimensional stories; I could feel the silk, I could see the light refracted in the tulip shaped tumblers ( p.39 ) I can see and hear the death train (p.117) “There was an unfocused brutality in its movements in the sickening, shrill sound of wheels grinding on tracks...People started to scream; at least, those who were still well enough to expend the energy did. She screamed with them. The mechanical movement so final. It was more terrifying than anything else, this fiery beast that held them in its belly.” Echoes of the Holocaust.
I felt the sadness and despair as Lilit tried to think of a way to help the woman with the crying baby p. 117 “She knew the woman’s milk had dried up, knew the baby would soon die. But there was nothing she could do. She thought of latching the baby to her own small breasts, praying milk would come in sympathy, but, somehow, she was too tired. Too sleepy. Too indifferent. Too afraid of what the Turks might do again if they saw her.” Such hopelessness and despair. Such pain. Then... p.119 “Lilit saw the mother make for a well with the bundle of concealed baby under her arm. She was shaking now, her head jerking from side to side like a hen’s, the movement of her legs spasmodic....In an instant of despair, she dropped her baby like a wishing stone into the well. He would bring her good fortune. He cried too much. She was too tired to carry him anymore. There was no milk left to give him. She wanted him to drown, have a swifter, easier death.” So emotional, so real, so much pain, so much hopelessness.
It is the hopelessness that struck me more than anything. Having no choices. No existence. The endless cycle of violence based on nothing more than superstition, history, and prior bloodshed. Where no lessons learned?
Cosgrove states in the opening pages of this novel, “The historic circumstances in this novel are real. Many of the characters are not. This is a work of fiction and liberties have been taken with some dates, events and places.
The author does not seek to blame, defame or offend any race, creed or culture for their beliefs or their past and present actions. There are no villains in this story - and no heroes either.”
Such a poignant and remarkable multi-layered expose of society – past and present. What has changed? Not a lot. Truly sad, moving and memorable.
September 7, 2017
If you know nothing about the Armenian genocide, then I may suggest reading this book. I feel like there are other options for learning about it however, and even ones that make you feel the horror and injustice of it like this book did. And you wouldn't have to read this book. But I felt like I had to finish this book to honour those people who haven't been acknowledged much in the world, and that's a bad reason to finish a book.
The book had a lot going on, with multiple timelines and stories. And hats off to the author, she managed those well and deftly. I never got lost with the movement of the stories, nor the characters. I thought that this was a well crafted book in that sense. The length of the book is a counterpoint. I think there was a bit too much going on, and it was too long. Although that may tie into the next point.
Anoush is one of the unsympathetic characters I have read in a while. She is hypocritical, and deceitful. I found her actually rather horrible. And as she was the one tying everything together, that made the book hard. I also didn't need to hear about her stomach all the time. I thought she was pregnant for most of the book, but no, her stomach has the strength of a soggy, cardboard box. If she was pregnant, there would have been a narrative reason for telling me about it. Apparently, she's just weak. And annoying.
I also reached my limit of sexual assaults in this book. So #triggerwarning for others. I don't mind realism and I understand that this is unfortunately part of life, particularly when dealing with war and genocide. But I hit my limit, and wasn't overly comfortable with how they were dealt with.
Overarchingly, the themes of no one is right in war or religion, particularly in the Middle East came through loud and clear. It was nice not to have a side's agenda forced on you. Everyone has done something and had something done to them, no one is an innocent group.
I finished the book the day I found a memorial in Berlin to the Armenian genocide, recognising the victims. And I saw when we were flying over Lake Van, now in Turkey, on the way home, and realised how far away the Armenian border now is from there. I learnt about that group of people. That's important.
The majority of the book was in Lebanon though, and while there was a character or two I was invested in, that didn't fuss me that much. Just for perspective.
The book had a lot going on, with multiple timelines and stories. And hats off to the author, she managed those well and deftly. I never got lost with the movement of the stories, nor the characters. I thought that this was a well crafted book in that sense. The length of the book is a counterpoint. I think there was a bit too much going on, and it was too long. Although that may tie into the next point.
Anoush is one of the unsympathetic characters I have read in a while. She is hypocritical, and deceitful. I found her actually rather horrible. And as she was the one tying everything together, that made the book hard. I also didn't need to hear about her stomach all the time. I thought she was pregnant for most of the book, but no, her stomach has the strength of a soggy, cardboard box. If she was pregnant, there would have been a narrative reason for telling me about it. Apparently, she's just weak. And annoying.
I also reached my limit of sexual assaults in this book. So #triggerwarning for others. I don't mind realism and I understand that this is unfortunately part of life, particularly when dealing with war and genocide. But I hit my limit, and wasn't overly comfortable with how they were dealt with.
Overarchingly, the themes of no one is right in war or religion, particularly in the Middle East came through loud and clear. It was nice not to have a side's agenda forced on you. Everyone has done something and had something done to them, no one is an innocent group.
I finished the book the day I found a memorial in Berlin to the Armenian genocide, recognising the victims. And I saw when we were flying over Lake Van, now in Turkey, on the way home, and realised how far away the Armenian border now is from there. I learnt about that group of people. That's important.
The majority of the book was in Lebanon though, and while there was a character or two I was invested in, that didn't fuss me that much. Just for perspective.
September 16, 2013
beautifully written book about how the hatred bred in the Middle East impacts ordinary people. I've always wondered how I will turn out if I grew up knowing genocide. Will I have the power to forgive or will hatred take over me? This book is a must read for those who want to learn more about the suffering and hope of the people from Armenia, Palestine, Israel, Syria and Turkey.
December 4, 2017
The historical setting was interesting but I didn't warm to the present day protagonist so overall I found it a chore to finish.
December 20, 2021
As you can see from the cover images on my blog, the dustjacket for this remarkable book differs from the cover. The dustjacket on the left is an image of Damascus in 1925, while the cover is an image of Aleppo in 2012. The contrast between these two images is a sobering introduction to what is a very sobering book.
So, no, despite the story span of four generations, it's not your typical family saga. It's actually very difficult to read because there is so much violence and Cosgrove does not spare the reader some very confronting images.
Anoush, a journalist of Armenian heritage, was born in Lebanon but sent to the US to escape the violence when she was sixteen. Her story, narrated first person, begins in 1995 when she returns to Lebanon after the death of her uncle Sarkis, the last surviving member of her family. There is a UN war crimes tribunal being held, and she thinks she may be able to learn the truth about her father's actions during the Lebanese Civil War. His story and its antecedents unravel through chapters set before and during 1915 when the Armenian genocide took place; in 1925 in a refugee camp in the aftermath; and in 1982 during the civil war. The constant changing from one time period to another is unsettling and it makes it difficult to piece events together, but the structure reinforces the cruel messiness of life in the Middle East.
Anoush struggles with her own identity. Waiting for the ferry to Beirut, she jousts with her friend Dilek whose family have hosted her for a week on Cyprus. She brushes off Dilek's concerns about solo travel and the emotional cost of the trip:
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2021/12/20/b...
So, no, despite the story span of four generations, it's not your typical family saga. It's actually very difficult to read because there is so much violence and Cosgrove does not spare the reader some very confronting images.
Anoush, a journalist of Armenian heritage, was born in Lebanon but sent to the US to escape the violence when she was sixteen. Her story, narrated first person, begins in 1995 when she returns to Lebanon after the death of her uncle Sarkis, the last surviving member of her family. There is a UN war crimes tribunal being held, and she thinks she may be able to learn the truth about her father's actions during the Lebanese Civil War. His story and its antecedents unravel through chapters set before and during 1915 when the Armenian genocide took place; in 1925 in a refugee camp in the aftermath; and in 1982 during the civil war. The constant changing from one time period to another is unsettling and it makes it difficult to piece events together, but the structure reinforces the cruel messiness of life in the Middle East.
Anoush struggles with her own identity. Waiting for the ferry to Beirut, she jousts with her friend Dilek whose family have hosted her for a week on Cyprus. She brushes off Dilek's concerns about solo travel and the emotional cost of the trip:
'Thank your relatives again for me. Tessukur ederim. Is that how you say it?'
It strikes me as wrong even as I open my mouth. That I speak so readily the language of the people who killed my ancestors. Yet Dilek's aunts, uncles and cousins have been warm, overly hospitable. My own uncles are dead, my aunts lost to Turks or Kurds or Bedouin, cousins unborn. My father, mother, grandparents, all gone. Dilek didn't tell her family that I'm Armenian. I'm not myself anymore. (p.4)
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2021/12/20/b...
June 10, 2013
A supremely brilliant account of a complex issue and history of the plight of Armenians. Spell binding. Though the horrors are really heart-aching, I have learned so much. Congratulations to the author on her precise and beautiful prose. This book held my attention with not a single wasted word or pointless sentence. Please read this book.
July 13, 2019
An epic reminiscent of Shantaram in some ways, but so different in others. Spans 80 years of history, from the genocide of the Armenian Christians through to the Israeli occupation of Beirut in the 80s, and beyond. Turkish / Armenian / Palestinian / Israeli / Muslim / Christian - all in the right, yet all in the wrong. No one wins...
July 26, 2025
Not your usual historical fiction, this book keeps you thinking well after you've turned the last page. Very topical, being mainly set in Beirut, with the distrust and hatred between the Israelis, Christian and Muslim populations, it does sow the seed of hope, where little by little, there is a possibility they could all learn to live together. Intelligently written, it is heavy with detail and the characters are woven throughout the generations, from the early 1900s, when Turkiye invaded Armenia, through to Beirut in the 1980s and 1990s. It's worth doing a little family tree on a post it note or two as you go along and sticking them in the front of the book, as it can be a little tricky when you first meet characters and then jump to another period of time before they have solidified in your mind. This novel will leave you heartbroken at times as you wade through the atrocities of war and genocide but it so worth the read. I finished the last page and just said 'wow'
August 31, 2018
Powerfully reading in places, but overall I found it too jumbled, too many characters jumping around too many years too much unnecessary detail.
Also the "Who am I" question, although put in many different phrases was irritating by the first quarter and overused by the end.
Also the "Who am I" question, although put in many different phrases was irritating by the first quarter and overused by the end.
January 26, 2022
The atrocities which occurred in Armenia over the years are appalling and we need to be aware of them. However, I found this book, which jumped backwards and forwards over generations at every chapter, very difficult and frustrating to read. What is wrong with chronological writing?
June 25, 2018
This book changed me.
December 20, 2020
Sweeping multi generational saga, exploring horrific truths and current climate. Its sadness is in its matter of fact nature, it is cold and restrained. Courageously optimistic.
February 20, 2021
Couldn't get into it - seemed florid, overwrought and somewhat pointless. Perhaps I missed the point, but I eventually gave up on looking for it.
January 11, 2025
Excellent, heart-breaking, and hopeful. This is a look at the lifelines of people in a very difficult and complex part of the world.
December 6, 2018
Very nicely written book. Found it a little difficult to get through, didnt spike my interest and keep me intrigued just a good book to pass the time.
June 3, 2013
It took me more than my usual 3-4 days to read this book. This genre is my favourite and can devour a book of this size easily.
This book took me nearly a month to read. Don't get me wrong, it was mesmerizing. Beautifully written, interesting characters and historical to boot.
It's just....I found it hard to get through the brutality. I've read PLENTY of books on the holocaust, WW1, WW2 and other truly tragic historical tales. But this one was just a real struggle for me, which is a testament to the author and how spot on she is with this book.
I will own up to my own ignorance here, I knew nothing of the Armenian genocide, in fact it's the main reason I picked this novel up, to educate myself. And boy am I educated now. Horrifically disturbing what humankind will do in the name of religion, weather it be Muslim, Christian or Jew.
I felt for all the characters, each one was flawed, some more than others, but all at their core were just trying to survive, survive the past that keeps haunting, and survive the future that just seems to keep repeating the past. After all, when your parents and grandparents have been tortured and your entire race almost wiped out...how do you not carry those prejudices ? How do you bridge the gap between religions in peace time? How do you make the peace last when underneath it all there is still so much hate and resentment?
This book makes you question alot.
Absolutely amazing. Well done Katerina. I will definitely be recommending it and hand selling it at the book shop I work in.
Thank you for the education.
This book took me nearly a month to read. Don't get me wrong, it was mesmerizing. Beautifully written, interesting characters and historical to boot.
It's just....I found it hard to get through the brutality. I've read PLENTY of books on the holocaust, WW1, WW2 and other truly tragic historical tales. But this one was just a real struggle for me, which is a testament to the author and how spot on she is with this book.
I will own up to my own ignorance here, I knew nothing of the Armenian genocide, in fact it's the main reason I picked this novel up, to educate myself. And boy am I educated now. Horrifically disturbing what humankind will do in the name of religion, weather it be Muslim, Christian or Jew.
I felt for all the characters, each one was flawed, some more than others, but all at their core were just trying to survive, survive the past that keeps haunting, and survive the future that just seems to keep repeating the past. After all, when your parents and grandparents have been tortured and your entire race almost wiped out...how do you not carry those prejudices ? How do you bridge the gap between religions in peace time? How do you make the peace last when underneath it all there is still so much hate and resentment?
This book makes you question alot.
Absolutely amazing. Well done Katerina. I will definitely be recommending it and hand selling it at the book shop I work in.
Thank you for the education.
June 17, 2021
Goodness! I almost didn't read this book. What a great loss that would have been. I was searching for books on Armenia (current reading challenge) and suspected (rightly, as it turns out) that this one might be set mainly in Lebanon. Tremendously glad it took it on. It got me in from the first chapter, and I learnt so, so much as the stories unfolded.
This is one of those books that attempts to run a couple of inter-generational stories side by side. Bone Ash Sky has three stories in the mix. Typically a find that one story (usually the one furtherest back in time) strongly outweighs the others, which come across as add-ons or afterthoughts. I've read a number of books like this where I've skimmed or even skipped entire sections in order to get back to the 'real story'.
Not so with Bone Ash Sky. All three generational stories are weighty and superb in their own right. The interweaving of the generational threads is seamless, believable and powerful, with the bonus of some surprising twists.
Added to this is the historical and cultural tour the reader is taken on from start to finish - as well as brilliant character development.
This is everything a historical novel should be. I loved it!
This is one of those books that attempts to run a couple of inter-generational stories side by side. Bone Ash Sky has three stories in the mix. Typically a find that one story (usually the one furtherest back in time) strongly outweighs the others, which come across as add-ons or afterthoughts. I've read a number of books like this where I've skimmed or even skipped entire sections in order to get back to the 'real story'.
Not so with Bone Ash Sky. All three generational stories are weighty and superb in their own right. The interweaving of the generational threads is seamless, believable and powerful, with the bonus of some surprising twists.
Added to this is the historical and cultural tour the reader is taken on from start to finish - as well as brilliant character development.
This is everything a historical novel should be. I loved it!
May 9, 2014
Ambitious in its scope and intention, it sustains its narrative drive throughout the 483 pages. It was clearly heavily researched and occasionally that shows through, with some clunky passages, contrived coincidences and unnatural dialogue. However the writer draws vivid pictures with her words, which can make the sustained passages of intense brutality difficult to read. Fortunately the time-hopping structure breaks up the intensity and helps to weave the different strands together.
I don't think I've read any fictionalised accounts of the 20th century Armenian genocide before, nor have I really considered how that piece of history fits into the wider puzzle of Middle Eastern history and politics, so for me it was worth reading just for that.
I don't think I've read any fictionalised accounts of the 20th century Armenian genocide before, nor have I really considered how that piece of history fits into the wider puzzle of Middle Eastern history and politics, so for me it was worth reading just for that.
October 5, 2014
A difficult subject matter to tackle, but nonetheless, Katerina Cosgrove manages to handle it with skill and deft. To my knowledge, there haven't been many novels based on the Armenian genocide, but the author handles it with such care and empathy. It's topic that I haven't given much thought towards, but I should as it is deeply personal. The weaving of Beirut in the 80s and 90s mixed with Lake Van in what was then Armenia in the 1900s reinforced the aftershock value of war and how prejudices are passed on from generation to generation.
A long but worthy read.
A long but worthy read.
September 16, 2013
Wow, this is one complex book. With its multigenerational story lines that span several countries and decades, it was amazing to see how politics impacted the lives of individuals and their children and grandchildren.
I made the mistake of starting this book while packing and moving house which meant that I had a break from the story and found it hard to keep track of who was who but it is defiantly a powerful story.
I made the mistake of starting this book while packing and moving house which meant that I had a break from the story and found it hard to keep track of who was who but it is defiantly a powerful story.
December 9, 2014
Engrossing, disturbing, enlightening. This book was a great read though I did find it very difficult at times dealing with the horrors of past and present war. I had absolutely no idea that during 1915, 1.5 million Armenians were murdered by the Ottoman Turkish government. A fact that is still denied by the Turkish government today. A genocide which is still largely unknown by the world. In this book the 3 intertwining tales were well resolved and the characters were very believable.
March 1, 2015
This was an incredibly difficult and beautiful book to read, very complex and confronting, with so much to say. I really enjoyed how Cosgrove showed so effectively the 'greyness' of right and wrong in war, and how hatred and retribution continue across generations until someone has the strength to stop it and try some understanding instead.
One of the most meaningful books I've read in a long time.
One of the most meaningful books I've read in a long time.
March 11, 2015
Such a tragic and devastating subject matter! I loved the intersection of time periods, plots, and characters. The slow revealing of characters in this way, meant that I was constantly changing my mind about their histories and motivations. Made me want to learn about the histories of the Armenian and Lebanese people.
March 20, 2016
I learned a lot from this book about the Armenian genocide by the Turks in 1915, the political and social situation in Lebanon from then up to the present but most of all about the complexity of relationships between the many refugees welcomed into Lebanon in the 20th century. Educational, well written and researched.
April 6, 2016
So sad and so rich all at once. The pain of so many people - Armenian and Palestinian, Musilm and Jew, Orthodox and Maronite. And yet somewhere in the midst of it all, people find lovers, have children, make a life. And some decide not to hate for ever. A powerful and moving novel based in the truth of some much recent pain.
January 27, 2014
I really enjoyed this book as I do not know much about Beirut and all its wars. It was very confronting and a very big book to read. You must read this just to realize how lucky we are to live in such a great country.
April 11, 2014
Full review here: http://theselittlewords.com/2013/06/2...
Want to read
August 12, 2015#Lebanon
September 5, 2013
This was a great story...... I didn't really know much about this part of history - and so not only did I really enjoy the story, but learnt stuff too. I'd recommend this as a great read.
Read
October 6, 2013Beautifully written book about love and humanity in the midst of the politics of hatred and war in Middle East!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews