Rise the Euphrates

by Carol Edgarian

A modern-day Armenian American girl, Seta Loon finds herself caught between her grandmother, a survivor of the Turkish massacre of Armenians, and her mother, and struggling with her own feelings of conflict and alienation

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Family, Historical, Middle East, War, Collections

370 pages, Hardcover

First published March 29, 1994

About the author

New York Times bestselling author Carol Edgarian's novels include VERA, THREE STAGES OF AMAZEMENT and the international bestseller RISE THE EUPHRATES, winner of the ANC Freedom Prize.

Her articles and essays have appeared in many national magazines, and she co-edited the popular collection drawn from writers' diaries, The Writer's Life: Intimate Thoughts on Work, Love, Inspiration, and Fame.

Carol is co-founder of the non-profit Narrative (www.NarrativeMagazine.com), a leading digital publisher of fiction, poetry, ideas, and art, and she is founder of Narrative in the Schools, programs that provide free libraries and resources to teachers and students around the world.

Join Carol's mailing list for updates and more info at www.caroledgarian.com or, for all you fellow word-nerds, follow her popular Instagram show A Word, Please every week @cedgarian.

Carol lives with her family in Northern California.

Reviews

[Jenny (Reading Envy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The daughter assumes what is unfinished in her mother's life. The unanswered questions become her work. She spins, turning the questions upon herself. Generation after generation, it is a spiraling."
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This is one of the books I've had on my TBR since I started reading around the world and collecting titles to read. I was glad to finally get to it!

The book starts with harrowing scenes from the Armenian Genocide as the grandmother of Seta Loon escapes the country. The story goes on to show how Seta's mother made her way still very much inside the Armenian immigrant community, and how Seta and her siblings/friends move beyond it in some ways but are bound to it by others. The novel grows increasingly focused on Seta and her small world to where it almost feels like two novels for a while, but I thought the author did a good job connecting her journey back to that of her grandmother's life.

There is heavy reliance on the Armenian storytelling phrase that has siblings in Turkish, Greek, and even Cypriot storytelling - "there was and there was not."

[Jane Lancellotti · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read a lot, and this is one of my favorite novels. It is one of the great pleasures of life -- a book with the kind of depth that catches your attention and won't let go. What blew me away were Edgarian's artful turns from the story of genocide to the story of a mother and daughter whose love is suffused with the shame of all that has come before. I wasn't looking for a history lesson, and Rise the Euphrates transcends historical events into a timeless rendering of the ways in which the human heart holds grief, and how such sorrow is transformed, one generation at a time. Seta Loon begins the telling, seeking a bright new future for herself by way of the past. Ultimately, Seta is the only one who can redeem her grandmother's choices. Beyond this, Rise is one of those rare novels that pulls you into its wide arms and won't let go.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent story: historically informative, although it's told from a modern day perspective; well-developed characters; excellent pace!

Had I not read this book, the Turkish massacre of the Armenians in 1915 would have been just another phrase passing by my eyes in various things I read. Now, it will never be that again. I will stop and mourn for those who died and those who lost families, just as I mourn for many with tragic, unexplainable, unacceptable losses.

In addition to the greater depth of understanding I received from this well-written book, I was also caught up in the family dynamics -- thoroughly engaging.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I lived for a while in Turkey, and am very aware of how the Turks view the Armenian "situation" as something that never happened. I have heard it from both sides, and it's hard to see how thinking people can ignore something that is so clearly a part of history. The story was a tad self-absorbed, but an interesting exploration of guilt passed from one generation to the next. Like any holocaust story, there is the insistence that we not forget -- and we shouldn't -- but neither should we be required to bear the guilt, anger, and hostility of the past.

[Karen Merrifield · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book about Armenian genocide which is not written about as much as the Holocaust, to my awareness. I liked this book better than Edgarian's newest book because in this one the characters were really fleshed it---felt like I knew them.

[Lainie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved this book. There were aspects that mirrored my own and my sisters' 1960s second-generation Armenian-American suburban lives so closely I wondered if Edgarian had been hiding in the closet of my (shared) bedroom. I own two copies of this in hardbound: one to lend out and one to cherish.

I drove 2 hours to see/hear Edgarian read from the novel at a chain bookstore in Portland, OR. She seemed a little distant from the roomful of Armenians but then a book tour can really wipe you out.

Here's hoping we can look forward to many more novels by Carol Edgarian. I can't wait to read her new one, The Three Stages of Amazement, releasing in just a few days.

I read this in 2011 and corrected a word in this review in 2021.

[Michele · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a granddaughter of an Armenian-American, I was drawn to this book to find out more about the history and culture of Armenians before and after the Armenian Genocide. Unfortunately, my grandfather died before I was born, so I have limited information about him or his ancestry.

This work of historical fiction filled in many blanks and was a good read.

[Kathy Azarigian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is about how women in Armenia/Syria survived the Genocide and their arrival in America

[Isabella Silvers · Rating 2 out of 5]

I REALLY wish I could say I liked this. I tried so hard to. I had to force myself to finish it.

[Alesa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was eager to read this book, because it was (kind of) about the Armenian genocide. I hoped it would be as substantial as The Sandcastle Girls and The Gendarme, both of which addressed a similar topic, but were also very strong novels as literature, which excellent character development, important human insights, and good plotting to boot.

Rise the Euphrates, however, was a disappointment. Early on, when the author used the verb "lurched" twice in just three pages, I decided to give her a break and keep reading (this being her first novel, etc.). And I was glad to read her portrayal of a child's view of the Armenian massacres and deportation. However, the rest of the book seemed to go nowhere. It felt kind of like a family history where not all that much happens, except for people getting married, having kids, going through typical domestic stuff. Truthfully, I skimmed about the last two-thirds, hoping that we'd see some plot. Alas, no. Perhaps I missed it somewhere. Anyway, if you're looking for something on a caliber of the two novels named above, forget it. To this humble reviewer, Rise the Euphrates just doesn't cut it.

[Monique · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Rise the Euphrates" was a hard book to read. Genocide is a difficult subject and the grandmother in the story was a frustrating character. I liked the middle and end of the book (told from the daughter and granddaughter's perspectives) much more than the first part which was told by the grandmother. I think Carol Edgarian is an excellent author and she does a very good job with a tough subject: How do subsequent generations deal with the horrific effects of genocide (in this case the Turks murdered a million Armenians)? Each generation handles it differently, the first denies, the second feels guilt and the third finally is able to come to terms.

Not a beach or poolside read.

[Robyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I knew very little about the massacre of Armenians by the Turks, the central theme in this book. So I greatly appreciated getting an in-depth perspective on this historical event.

My favorite part of the book was the focus on growing up in the 1970's and the pressure to fit in. I particularly loved the focus on how we expect mothers to be perfect, but they are not. They are just people too.

I think the book struggled to integrate the two themes - the history of the Armenians and the coming-of-age tale. But I would like to read more by this author. I know that this is her first book, written about 20 years ago, and I think she shows a lot of promise.

[Scott Burton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written. Insightful. Good character development. Tells the story of how the Armenian Genocide of the early 1900's twisted those who survived in ways that impacted their children and their children's children. Universally dark. There is not a lite happy moment in the entire book. But I am glad I read it.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really interesting and intriguing book. I must admit, though, that I liked it much more at the beginning and middle than I did at the end. Not a massive surprise or anything, I just didn't like where the author took it a bit more esoteric at the end. I loved the characters and the Armenian culture portrayed in the book. Edgarian has a strong writing style and a great story.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

From my Summer Reading List blog post (May, 2012)
Carol Edgarian – Rise the Euphrates: Three generations of women descended from a survivor of the 1915 Turkish massacre of Armenians. A perfect capsule of immigrant experience and a beautiful treatment of questions of family, identity, and the way history lives within us.

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ethnic coming of age story. Main character is Seta.
First half sounded exactly like Meriden. Takes place in Memorial, Ct.
Grandmother escapes Turkish massacre of Armenians and comes to U.S.
Marries. Her husband works in ball bearing factory.
Relationship between women/mother & child intense.
Really takes place in Newington.
Impressive, fascinating.

[samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

A beautiful book. Embraces the generational gap that is so unyielding in diaspora communities. Seta Loon is divided and whole; she is and she isn't. Full of enough hybridity to keep any reader satisfied.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Theme: the connections and threads that bond the generations, relationships among mothers, daughters, and grandmothers. The characters are of Armenian descent and they are haunted by a past of loss, death and destruction.

[Bree]

This is on the after-honors queue too.

[Pavarti Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful Book about second generation American-Armenians.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remarkable.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Armenian holocaust

[Lauri Leone · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite book of all time.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

Draws you into the mystery and beauty of the Armenian people. I didn't know their history and I'm a 46 year old mother of two. I was ashamed.

[Edna Rankine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes

Insightful account of the spiraling of generations, starting with mother and daughter. Hard to get away from. Very well written.

[Jessica Reidy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Powerful and disturbing. A subject that is unfortunately still glazed over.