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Black Dog of Fate: An American Son Uncovers His Armenian Past
The first-born son of his generation, Peter Balakian grew up in a close, extended family, sheltered by 1950s and '60s New Jersey suburbia and immersed in an all-American boyhood defined by rock 'n' roll, adolescent pranks, and a passion for the New York Yankees that he shared with his beloved grandmother. But beneath this sunny world lay the dark specter of the trauma his family and ancestors had experienced--the Turkish government's extermination of more than a million Armenians in 1915, including many of Balakian's relatives, in the century's first genocide.
In elegant, moving prose, Black Dog of Fate charts Balakian's growth and personal awakening to the facts of his family's history and the horrifying aftermath of the Turkish government's continued campaign to cover up one of the worst crimes ever committed against humanity. In unearthing the secrets of a family's past and how they affect its present, Black Dog of Fate gives fresh meaning to the story of what it means to be an American.
In elegant, moving prose, Black Dog of Fate charts Balakian's growth and personal awakening to the facts of his family's history and the horrifying aftermath of the Turkish government's continued campaign to cover up one of the worst crimes ever committed against humanity. In unearthing the secrets of a family's past and how they affect its present, Black Dog of Fate gives fresh meaning to the story of what it means to be an American.
304 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1997
78 people are currently reading
2216 people want to read
About the author
Peter Balakian
32 books84 followersPeter Balakian is an American poet, prose writer, and scholar. He is the author of many books including the 2016 Pulitzer prize winning book of poems Ozone Journal, the memoir Black Dog of Fate, winner of the PEN/Albrand award in 1998 and The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America's Response, winner of the 2005 Raphael Lemkin Prize and a New York Times best seller (October 2003). Both prose books were New York Times Notable Books. Since 1980 he has taught at Colgate University where he is the Donald M and Constance H Rebar Professor of the Humanities in the department of English and Director of Creative Writing.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 218 reviews
July 28, 2022
Published in 1997, this book is Peter Balakian’s memoir of his time growing up in New Jersey in the 1950s-1970. It relates how he eventually traced his family’s tragic stories that occurred during the Armenian genocide in Turkey in 1915. He grew up mostly unaware of his family’s experiences. His older relatives had been reluctant to discuss the past, believing young people should be shielded from these harsh realities, and Balakian had only some hints that unsettled him. He eventually read a book about the massacre of Armenians in Turkey, written by the American Ambassador to the Ottomon Empire, Henry Morgenthau. He also obtained family legal documents that shed light on what had happened to his ancestors.
The first half of the book is focused on the author’s early interactions with his grandmother. They live in suburban neighborhood, and bond over a shared love of baseball. She tells him stories, one of which is a parable about the titular black dog, and says, “Appearances are deceiving. The world is not what you think.” Balakian selects episodes that illustrate his family’s preservation of the Armenian culture.
There are a number of literary references in this work – Armenian authors and artists – as well as Armenian cuisine and religion. He confronts genocide deniers. He links the Armenian genocide to what happened later in Nazi Germany and addresses the dangers of nationalistic thinking – an issue we still deal with today.
It is beautifully written. Balakian is a distinguished poet, and it shows in his writing. A few poems relating to his heritage are included. I was expecting that the author would have travelled to the region, but if he did, it is not part of this memoir.
The first half of the book is focused on the author’s early interactions with his grandmother. They live in suburban neighborhood, and bond over a shared love of baseball. She tells him stories, one of which is a parable about the titular black dog, and says, “Appearances are deceiving. The world is not what you think.” Balakian selects episodes that illustrate his family’s preservation of the Armenian culture.
There are a number of literary references in this work – Armenian authors and artists – as well as Armenian cuisine and religion. He confronts genocide deniers. He links the Armenian genocide to what happened later in Nazi Germany and addresses the dangers of nationalistic thinking – an issue we still deal with today.
It is beautifully written. Balakian is a distinguished poet, and it shows in his writing. A few poems relating to his heritage are included. I was expecting that the author would have travelled to the region, but if he did, it is not part of this memoir.
February 4, 2017
This is a very powerful book and extremely well-written. It is a memoir in which Peter Balakian, growing up in a comfortable middle-class Armenian-American household, is forced to come to grips with the horrifying tragedy of the Armenian genocide in 1915. In that year a million or so Armenians were brutally tortured, robbed, raped, starved, and murdered by the Turks. There is no clearer way to say it. And yet the Turks, to this day, deny that such an event ever occurred - despite written accounts of the tragedy.
Peter Balakian recounts his slow awakening to the reality of the genocide and what happened to his ancestors, especially his beloved grandmother. The book is an important story of his coming to accept the truth of his family, and it should be read by all Armenian-Americans. But it also serves as a timely reminder to all of us of the brutality in the hearts of national leaders even today and what it means to be a victim of that ruthlessness.
Highly recommended.
Peter Balakian recounts his slow awakening to the reality of the genocide and what happened to his ancestors, especially his beloved grandmother. The book is an important story of his coming to accept the truth of his family, and it should be read by all Armenian-Americans. But it also serves as a timely reminder to all of us of the brutality in the hearts of national leaders even today and what it means to be a victim of that ruthlessness.
Highly recommended.
July 13, 2015
Needs to be read. A genocide memoir that reminds us that we have not arrived as humanity. This was the first genocide called a genocide and yet we have continued to watch as these atrocities take place. The world seldom steps in to save these people groups in spite of having organized the UN which is supposed to step in and protect during these times. Instead, in the UN, we have a toothless tiger gumming at the food of meaningless non-issues while doing damage and allowing damage to be done where it really counts.
September 4, 2015
I teach college-level European history, and will certainly be adding this to my syllabus. Balakian is an excellent writer, and his unique crafting of the story of how he came to understand the fate of many of his family members led me to finish this book in less than three days. An important book, not only for Armenian-Americans, but for all Americans, as each of us has the potential to be surprised by our past. I'll also recommend "The Burning Tigris" as a companion read for this one.
July 2, 2012
If I could have skipped the first, oh, half of the book and gone straight to the part about his family in Armenia, this would have been a 4 star book. But since he made me struggle through his pretentious autobiography first, it got knocked down to two. "Did you know that I knew Allen Ginsberg PERSONALLY? Oh, and that I can employ STREAM-OF-CONSCIOUSNESS writing techniques, even when they don't really add to the writing?"
Basically, it didn't flow well. For all I know he's a decent poet, but writing is not his gift. Not where I would go for information about the Armenian Genocide.
(My library has this listed as a YA book. I feel desperately sorry for any high-schoolers who had this forced on them. It will probably be years before they can overcome such trauma and start enjoying reading again).
Basically, it didn't flow well. For all I know he's a decent poet, but writing is not his gift. Not where I would go for information about the Armenian Genocide.
(My library has this listed as a YA book. I feel desperately sorry for any high-schoolers who had this forced on them. It will probably be years before they can overcome such trauma and start enjoying reading again).
July 17, 2017
I wrote the following Book Club Discussion Questions about this book:
1. How much did you know about the history of Armenia before reading this book? What did you learn?
2. Why wasn’t Armenia spoken about by Balakian’s family? How did growing up without knowing about “the old country” affect him?
3. Balakian grew up in a predominately Jewish neighborhood, and tells us, “I spent half of my early childhood wanting to be Jewish” (p.38). How was Balakian’s situation similar to that of the Jewish families around him? How was it different?
4. Why were sports, and especially football, important to Balakian’s father?
5. Balakian’s father had a phobia of germs, and Balakian tells us, “In all of this germ madness there seemed to be some deeper, more pervasive anxiety being expressed” (p.88). Why was Balakian’s father so anxious? How did it affect Balakian’s childhood?
6. Where does Balakian’s obsession with poetry come from? Why does he feel that “[p]oetry is about all of us” (p.112)?
7. Balakian’s father writes that Armenia was given freedoms under the Soviet Union that it could not have received elsewhere (p.116). Do you believe this is true? How is this different from the usual perception of life in the Soviet Union?
8. Why did the bombing of Pearl Harbor affect Balakian’s grandmother so profoundly?
9. Why is Aunt Anna upset with Balakian’s poetry? Why does she react so strongly to his writing about Armenia?
10. Why does Turkey refuse to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide? What forms does this denial take?
11. Discuss the protestors at the commemorative ceremony in Times Square. How does Balakian react to their propaganda? How did you react when you read it?
12. How did the Armenian Genocide pave the way for other genocides in the twentieth century? Consider Balakian’s statement on page 278: “Hitler in 1939 was inspired by the collective absence of memory of the Armenian Genocide.”
1. How much did you know about the history of Armenia before reading this book? What did you learn?
2. Why wasn’t Armenia spoken about by Balakian’s family? How did growing up without knowing about “the old country” affect him?
3. Balakian grew up in a predominately Jewish neighborhood, and tells us, “I spent half of my early childhood wanting to be Jewish” (p.38). How was Balakian’s situation similar to that of the Jewish families around him? How was it different?
4. Why were sports, and especially football, important to Balakian’s father?
5. Balakian’s father had a phobia of germs, and Balakian tells us, “In all of this germ madness there seemed to be some deeper, more pervasive anxiety being expressed” (p.88). Why was Balakian’s father so anxious? How did it affect Balakian’s childhood?
6. Where does Balakian’s obsession with poetry come from? Why does he feel that “[p]oetry is about all of us” (p.112)?
7. Balakian’s father writes that Armenia was given freedoms under the Soviet Union that it could not have received elsewhere (p.116). Do you believe this is true? How is this different from the usual perception of life in the Soviet Union?
8. Why did the bombing of Pearl Harbor affect Balakian’s grandmother so profoundly?
9. Why is Aunt Anna upset with Balakian’s poetry? Why does she react so strongly to his writing about Armenia?
10. Why does Turkey refuse to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide? What forms does this denial take?
11. Discuss the protestors at the commemorative ceremony in Times Square. How does Balakian react to their propaganda? How did you react when you read it?
12. How did the Armenian Genocide pave the way for other genocides in the twentieth century? Consider Balakian’s statement on page 278: “Hitler in 1939 was inspired by the collective absence of memory of the Armenian Genocide.”
March 19, 2021
Couldn’t get into this book. I read the first half carefully and there were some cute moments but it was mostly a bland recount of an uninteresting childhood. Somewhere past the halfway point the author finally visits Turkey, which is what I’d been waiting on, but then the author merely recounts a lot of textbook information. Maybe if I’d kept on reading he would have gotten personal with the discovery of his Armenian past but I couldn’t read any further to find out. The author didn’t engage me emotionally or intellectually.
January 5, 2016
If you want a book on the different regions and different methods of deportation of the Armenians which resulted in a genocide, this is the book to read. The beginning is a bit humorous, the middle was a bit dry but informative and latter part of the book is factual information
June 5, 2011
This is an important read for Armenian-Americans and those who love them. I read it as a teen, and am thinking of picking it back up to see what I think of it as an adult.
April 24, 2022
Այս գիրքը հուշագրություն է, որը New York Times-ի բեսթսելլեր է, այն հեղինակի կյանքի ճանապարհն է, կյանքում հայտնված մարդիկ ու հարազատների հուշերը։
Փիթերը ցեղասպանություն տեսած ծնողների որդի է ու տատիկի թոռ։
Գիրքը սկսվում է հեղինակի մանկությունից` տատիկի մասին հուշերով։
Գրքի այս հատվածում Փիթերին դեռ անծանոթ էր Հայաստանն ու հայ լինելը։ Նա Հայաստան ասելիս պատկերացնում էր տատին, իսկ տատին տեսնելիս` Հայաստանը։ Թեկուզ տանը լսում էր հայկական խոսք, միևնույն է, նա հայերեն հասկանալ, խոսել ու մտածել չէր կարողանում։
Նրա համար հայերը մի ազգ էին, որին փորձել էին ոչնչացնել, սակայն չէին կարողացել։ Գիտեր, որ Հայաստանը Խորհրդային Միության մեջ է և աշխարհի կողմից մոռացված։ Գիտեր Արարատ լեռան մասին, որը հայերինն էր, բայց զարմանում էր, թե ինչպես հայերինը չէ։
Փոքրիկ Փիթերն ուզում էր լինել հրեա և հաճախ ներկայանում էր որպես հրեա։
Սակայն շուտով իմացավ իր հարազատների կյանքի ու պայքարի մասին մանրամասներ, որոնք փոխեցին նրա մտքերն ու կյանքը։
Բացահայտելով իր ընտանիքի պատմությունը, դառը ճանապարհը, անքուն գիշերներն ու քաղցած օրերը, Փիթերը սկսեց հետաքրքրվել Հայաստանով։
Գրքի մասին այլ մանրամասներ չեմ գրի, որ բացահայտեք ինքներդ։ Քանի որ այս ամենը նույնիսկ մեկ տոկոսը չէ։
Գիրքը ծանր էր, հուզիչ, ամբողջ ընթացքում ստիպեց արտասվել, Փիթերի ընտանիքի հետ անցնել այդ բարդ ու մահվան կողքով քայլող ճանապարհը, ավելի սուր զգալ 100 տարուց ավելի չփակվող վերքի մրմուռը։
Անմարդկային ու վայրագ սպանություններ, 1.5 միլիոնից ավելի մարդու, հայի, երազանքների ու հանճարների Ցեղասպանություն, որը ծնեց բազում այսպիսի գրքեր, որոնք չպետք է գրվեին, որոնց թեման պետք է խորթ լիներ, ու այս գրքերի փոխարեն նույն հեղինակները պետք է գրեին հզոր հայրենիքի մասին։
Այս գիրքը պետք է կարդա յուրաքանչյուրս։
Փիթերը ցեղասպանություն տեսած ծնողների որդի է ու տատիկի թոռ։
Գիրքը սկսվում է հեղինակի մանկությունից` տատիկի մասին հուշերով։
Գրքի այս հատվածում Փիթերին դեռ անծանոթ էր Հայաստանն ու հայ լինելը։ Նա Հայաստան ասելիս պատկերացնում էր տատին, իսկ տատին տեսնելիս` Հայաստանը։ Թեկուզ տանը լսում էր հայկական խոսք, միևնույն է, նա հայերեն հասկանալ, խոսել ու մտածել չէր կարողանում։
Նրա համար հայերը մի ազգ էին, որին փորձել էին ոչնչացնել, սակայն չէին կարողացել։ Գիտեր, որ Հայաստանը Խորհրդային Միության մեջ է և աշխարհի կողմից մոռացված։ Գիտեր Արարատ լեռան մասին, որը հայերինն էր, բայց զարմանում էր, թե ինչպես հայերինը չէ։
Փոքրիկ Փիթերն ուզում էր լինել հրեա և հաճախ ներկայանում էր որպես հրեա։
Սակայն շուտով իմացավ իր հարազատների կյանքի ու պայքարի մասին մանրամասներ, որոնք փոխեցին նրա մտքերն ու կյանքը։
Բացահայտելով իր ընտանիքի պատմությունը, դառը ճանապարհը, անքուն գիշերներն ու քաղցած օրերը, Փիթերը սկսեց հետաքրքրվել Հայաստանով։
Գրքի մասին այլ մանրամասներ չեմ գրի, որ բացահայտեք ինքներդ։ Քանի որ այս ամենը նույնիսկ մեկ տոկոսը չէ։
Գիրքը ծանր էր, հուզիչ, ամբողջ ընթացքում ստիպեց արտասվել, Փիթերի ընտանիքի հետ անցնել այդ բարդ ու մահվան կողքով քայլող ճանապարհը, ավելի սուր զգալ 100 տարուց ավելի չփակվող վերքի մրմուռը։
Անմարդկային ու վայրագ սպանություններ, 1.5 միլիոնից ավելի մարդու, հայի, երազանքների ու հանճարների Ցեղասպանություն, որը ծնեց բազում այսպիսի գրքեր, որոնք չպետք է գրվեին, որոնց թեման պետք է խորթ լիներ, ու այս գրքերի փոխարեն նույն հեղինակները պետք է գրեին հզոր հայրենիքի մասին։
Այս գիրքը պետք է կարդա յուրաքանչյուրս։
January 12, 2023
WHO KNEW that hundreds of thousands of Armenians were systematically annihilated at the start of WWI? That there were burnings and crucifixions and “deployments” -death marches- in efforts to completely destroy a people and their civilization?
An atrocious history of genocide largely hidden to the American public (and the rest of the world, for that matter) because of geopolitics and war. Great book for its coverage of underreported content, and written with artistic prose. I like that it starts off as a coming of age memoir and transforms into a poetic account of history. Very very very sad.
An atrocious history of genocide largely hidden to the American public (and the rest of the world, for that matter) because of geopolitics and war. Great book for its coverage of underreported content, and written with artistic prose. I like that it starts off as a coming of age memoir and transforms into a poetic account of history. Very very very sad.
February 7, 2021
Black Dog of Fate felt like three different books, none of which were fully formed and fleshed out, and none of which were worth the buildup that I had from the beginning of the book. Peter Balakian, known foremost as a poet, then a scholar, writes of his family history and his journey of learning more about his Armenian past and the horrors of the Armenian Genocide that his family never talked about. That he is a poet was evident in his pages, with his overly descriptive imagery and ethereal imaginings of his family’s dreams and flashbacks. As someone who likes more authoritative, historical, nonfiction texts, I didn’t like that whole lot.
But what was lacking the most in Balakian’s book was a sense of cohesion from start to finish. The first 100 pages were simply about his upbringing, again with way too much description of his family’s clothing and food choices, his teenage antics, etc. I understand that Balakian was trying to illustrate his American life and cultural in relation to his distant older Armenian relatives. But there were no hints anywhere that there was anything to learn from them, only vague foreshadowing that there would be more talk of Armenia later—which was obvious given the premise of the book. But without those glimpses of Balakian hearing about his family’s past as a child and a young man, tt was just a boring memoir of adolescence.
Then, the middle part of the book was when Balakian started to learn more about Armenia. This was the most disappointing part of the book. Perhaps because I’ve already read Balakian’s other book, The Burning Tigris and his translation of Armenian Golgotha, but the general details of the genocide were already known to me. So I understand adding a background of what happened for those who don’t know, but I was disappointed that there was little to no actual reaction from Balakian in the moments when he found out these certain details that concerned his family, especially when his aunts opened up to him after years of silence. How did he feel? How did he react? We don’t know! Balakian mentions being at working doing pickups and drop-offs, some of which he missed and others of which went numb in his memory because of his reading of Ambassador Morgenthau’s memoirs of the genocide, but other than that, there is no reaction. Not even in the conversations with his family: it’s straight dialogue, with no feeling.
And then in the last third of the book, it’s clear that Balakian is writing what will become, six years later, The Burning Tigris, with its more in-depth look at what genocide is and how nations have responded to it and how the Armenian Genocide has been distorted and denied more and more over the decades since. This part felt like an essay, and in this case an essay I’ve already read. Only in the last two chapters does Balakian come back to his family and attempt to make the full-circle connection to his upbringing and his familial knowledge. But it’s not very profound and not even very effective.
After my recent readings of other books (again, that Peter Balakian contributed to or wrote entirely), I was hoping this would be more a personal, family tale about his own life. But instead I found a disconnected, disjointed, confusing narrative of a hodgepodge of experiences and facts that didn’t make sense together.
But what was lacking the most in Balakian’s book was a sense of cohesion from start to finish. The first 100 pages were simply about his upbringing, again with way too much description of his family’s clothing and food choices, his teenage antics, etc. I understand that Balakian was trying to illustrate his American life and cultural in relation to his distant older Armenian relatives. But there were no hints anywhere that there was anything to learn from them, only vague foreshadowing that there would be more talk of Armenia later—which was obvious given the premise of the book. But without those glimpses of Balakian hearing about his family’s past as a child and a young man, tt was just a boring memoir of adolescence.
Then, the middle part of the book was when Balakian started to learn more about Armenia. This was the most disappointing part of the book. Perhaps because I’ve already read Balakian’s other book, The Burning Tigris and his translation of Armenian Golgotha, but the general details of the genocide were already known to me. So I understand adding a background of what happened for those who don’t know, but I was disappointed that there was little to no actual reaction from Balakian in the moments when he found out these certain details that concerned his family, especially when his aunts opened up to him after years of silence. How did he feel? How did he react? We don’t know! Balakian mentions being at working doing pickups and drop-offs, some of which he missed and others of which went numb in his memory because of his reading of Ambassador Morgenthau’s memoirs of the genocide, but other than that, there is no reaction. Not even in the conversations with his family: it’s straight dialogue, with no feeling.
And then in the last third of the book, it’s clear that Balakian is writing what will become, six years later, The Burning Tigris, with its more in-depth look at what genocide is and how nations have responded to it and how the Armenian Genocide has been distorted and denied more and more over the decades since. This part felt like an essay, and in this case an essay I’ve already read. Only in the last two chapters does Balakian come back to his family and attempt to make the full-circle connection to his upbringing and his familial knowledge. But it’s not very profound and not even very effective.
After my recent readings of other books (again, that Peter Balakian contributed to or wrote entirely), I was hoping this would be more a personal, family tale about his own life. But instead I found a disconnected, disjointed, confusing narrative of a hodgepodge of experiences and facts that didn’t make sense together.
March 21, 2022
I listened to the audiobook of this. It was great to hear Dr. Balakian’s narration in his distinctive and ruminative voice. It felt like being in class with him again at Colgate. I’m currently teaching a unit on Holocaust literature to my high school students. In that light, I had much to think about going on this journey with Balakian as he takes you through his biography and his growing awareness that his family and ancestors were the survivors of the Armenian genocide, the grim predecessor to the Holocaust. The book is not only a document of the genocide, but also a great example of poetic memoir that is keenly attuned to the images, feelings, and perceptions that make up our consciousness and how they can inform our moral imagination.
March 24, 2019
An evocative account of Balakians flowing from the elite segments of the Armenian communities of İstanbul and Diyarbekir to an upper-middle-class American youth, passing through the horrors of the Armenian Genocide in between the two. It seems Peter Balakian himself was not really meant to engage fully with the Armenian background of the family as a consequence of the choices made by his parents' generation, but that's not quite how Lady Fate works. So some not really significant events cause him to investigate the story further, especially through his aunts and grandmother. The grandma is the real heroine here with her march towards Aleppo and her struggle to keep things going, in which she prevails against all odds. This main storyline, which comprises the second half of the book, should be of interest to anyone since through the grandma Balakian also presents a serviceable general panorama of the Genocide. But if you are already familiar with other survivors' accounts, you might want to look for more in the side stories. For instance, the disengagement of Balakian's aunts and parents is a puzzle that I thought deserved further investigation. Their survival instinct and willingness to have the horror completely left behind are explained reasonably well but could have been described in greater detail. I feel this all plays out in relation to CLASS and particular class anxieties, but this potential factor was not much discussed. Similarly, I'd like to read more on the interactions the teenager and young adult Balakian had with people from non-Armenian communities, as they open up different aspects of his identity. Therefore I disagree with other readers who tend to find these parts of the memoir insignificant or pretentious. No, refraining from making a comparison, I'd say they are also important and significant alongside the grandma's story. Just a little more purpose and focus into the first half along these lines and it is by all means a pure 5-star book. That and a full family tree figure.
December 4, 2024
I wanted to like this so bad, but it just wasn't for me.
Being a genocide memoir, my expectations were that I'd learn a lot more about the Turkish expulsion of the Armenians and how Turkish denial is still rampant. I wanted a more in-depth analysis of the genocide, more insights from a second generation Armenian who grew up in the United States.
I think my main grievance with this book is that there was no cohesiveness. The first part of the book was a lot of drudgery, recollections of his childhood that I found somewhat uneventful. I mean at this point, he didn't even know much about his Armenian identity. Sure, he has a few heartwarming moments with his grandmother but that was mostly it.
The second half is when he starts learning more about Armenia and the Turkish government's war crimes. However, it just seemed very textbook, like he was just regurgitating information. Some of the information was very surface-level. He includes his aunts' traumas of the genocide but he didn't add any insights. Isn't that what a memoir is about? Like I said, I wanted more.
By the time I got to the part where he visits Syria to see places where Turkey forced out the Armenians (which is the part I was looking forward to), I was already so disconnected.
Balakian failed to connect with me on an emotional and intellectual level, and I guess I looked to the wrong place to learn more about the Armenian genocide.
Being a genocide memoir, my expectations were that I'd learn a lot more about the Turkish expulsion of the Armenians and how Turkish denial is still rampant. I wanted a more in-depth analysis of the genocide, more insights from a second generation Armenian who grew up in the United States.
I think my main grievance with this book is that there was no cohesiveness. The first part of the book was a lot of drudgery, recollections of his childhood that I found somewhat uneventful. I mean at this point, he didn't even know much about his Armenian identity. Sure, he has a few heartwarming moments with his grandmother but that was mostly it.
The second half is when he starts learning more about Armenia and the Turkish government's war crimes. However, it just seemed very textbook, like he was just regurgitating information. Some of the information was very surface-level. He includes his aunts' traumas of the genocide but he didn't add any insights. Isn't that what a memoir is about? Like I said, I wanted more.
By the time I got to the part where he visits Syria to see places where Turkey forced out the Armenians (which is the part I was looking forward to), I was already so disconnected.
Balakian failed to connect with me on an emotional and intellectual level, and I guess I looked to the wrong place to learn more about the Armenian genocide.
March 2, 2014
Overall, I think this is an excellent book for anybody interested in Middle East/Caucasus Region studies. Mr. Balakian is a well regarded poet who captures the tragedy of the Armenian people with captivating language and past stories from family members.
I found many commonalities with Balakian's family and my own, who also suffered at the hands of the Turks, but were fortunate enough to also escape and find a new life in Paterson, New Jersey. It is striking that a family can withhold such horrors from their son (P. Balakian). It is only when Peter reads an account of the genocide, that has been stored on his parents book shelf, that he comes to the realization of what took place in Armenia.
There is imagery that is quite honestly hard to stomach. I am glad that Mr. Balakian has dedicated most of his academic career to addressing an issue that is glossed over, or denied, in Western Europe, America, and most notably Turkey.
Hrant Dink was murdered in Turkey for his outspoken stance on the Armenian Genocide. Orhan Pamuk was warned and sentenced to court for bringing up the subject of Turkey's campaign of denial against the horrendous acts against the Armenians. Now, in America, we have Peter Balakian who is also not letting the Turkish government off the hook for attempting to 'kill the memories of those who were killed.'
I found many commonalities with Balakian's family and my own, who also suffered at the hands of the Turks, but were fortunate enough to also escape and find a new life in Paterson, New Jersey. It is striking that a family can withhold such horrors from their son (P. Balakian). It is only when Peter reads an account of the genocide, that has been stored on his parents book shelf, that he comes to the realization of what took place in Armenia.
There is imagery that is quite honestly hard to stomach. I am glad that Mr. Balakian has dedicated most of his academic career to addressing an issue that is glossed over, or denied, in Western Europe, America, and most notably Turkey.
Hrant Dink was murdered in Turkey for his outspoken stance on the Armenian Genocide. Orhan Pamuk was warned and sentenced to court for bringing up the subject of Turkey's campaign of denial against the horrendous acts against the Armenians. Now, in America, we have Peter Balakian who is also not letting the Turkish government off the hook for attempting to 'kill the memories of those who were killed.'
October 3, 2011
I have just finished Black Dog of Fate by Peter Balakian, and I found this book very interesting and also very sad. I think that this book truely extendes the meaning of what it is to be an Armenian and the history of the Armenian Genocide. Black Dog of Fate is a memoir by the descendant of Armenian Genocide survivors who ended up in the US. The first half of the book consists of Balakian’s memories growing up in New jersey in the 1950s and 1960s. He grew up knowing he was Armenian, but not knowing anything about the history of his people, and how they ended up in the US. In his twenthies Peter Balakian becomes aware of his heritage, of what happened to Armenians in the Ottoman Empire during World War I and of how his own relatives escaped the Genocide and ended up in the US. His family’s history is at the second part of his book. The third is the history of the Armenian Genocide mixed with Balakian’s raising awareness of it. It also covers Turkish continuous attempts at denying the Genocide. I would recomend this book to anyone who is interested in Armenian history, or even if they are not, I think that they would find this book very good and very informative.
August 6, 2019
From my original Amazon review:
The excellence of this work is found in many different forms. It is a story of self-discovery, of coming to know the nuances and subtleties of one's ethnic heritage. It is a story of truth, both of the tragic history of the Armenian people, and of a particular immigrant Armenian family as well. Balakian weaves a wonderful and at times heart-wrenching tale of his sojourn, with his childhood in New Jersey, and his discovery of the terrible truths of the Armenian genocide. His descriptions of his early life experiences are delightful and clever, without being pretentious. We even get to sample some of his poetry! The only reason I did not give it a "5" was that it was not long enough! I wanted to read more.
The excellence of this work is found in many different forms. It is a story of self-discovery, of coming to know the nuances and subtleties of one's ethnic heritage. It is a story of truth, both of the tragic history of the Armenian people, and of a particular immigrant Armenian family as well. Balakian weaves a wonderful and at times heart-wrenching tale of his sojourn, with his childhood in New Jersey, and his discovery of the terrible truths of the Armenian genocide. His descriptions of his early life experiences are delightful and clever, without being pretentious. We even get to sample some of his poetry! The only reason I did not give it a "5" was that it was not long enough! I wanted to read more.
January 6, 2014
Stirring storyline of horrors occurring during the Armenian Genocide.
November 16, 2018
I really , really wanted to love this book, but I just didn't.
March 10, 2023
Peter Balakian was born in 1951 in New Jersey. His father was sports medicine inventor, Gerard Balakian, and his mother was Arax Aroosian Balakian. Balakian is a published and renowned poet, though I was unfamiliar with his work until I looked him up after reading this book. (I read several poems that I very much enjoyed and cannot wait to get the actual books of poetry he published to add to my collection.) He wrote another book, which is on my to be read list, called The Burning Tigris. (The Burning Tigris is about the Armenian Genocide.) In this book, Balakian offers portraits of several members of his family who were displaced and eradicated in the Armenian Genocide, perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire in 1915. (This genocide is fervently denied by a lot of people, especially the Turkish government. It is also one of the most ignored genocides, next to the genocide of indigenous people from North America.)
I thought this book was deeply personal and well written. I loved learning about the people in the author's family. As a World War II history major, I have often been drawn to, and read a lot of, Holocaust survivor books. I think it is extremely important to tell the stories and experiences of people who are no longer around to tell them. It is so important to make sure that crimes against humanity are never forgotten, so that we do not repeat them in our modern societies. (That seems like...pissing into the wind, really, with the things going on today in the United States with the systematic stripping of women's rights, religious freedoms, the dumbing down and whitewashing of education, and rights for LGBTQIA folks. However, it is very important that we keep learning about these very things and preparing ourselves to fight against them.) There are a lot of details about the lesser taught genocide, which I thought was tremendous. I bought it specifically because I had only read about the Armenian Genocide in passing, and had a deep desire to want to learn more. Mission successful. Even though the book was educational, and also a personal reflection on someone's childhood and family members, the book was easy to read and a page turner. I really enjoyed this book a lot more than I expected to.
I thought this book was deeply personal and well written. I loved learning about the people in the author's family. As a World War II history major, I have often been drawn to, and read a lot of, Holocaust survivor books. I think it is extremely important to tell the stories and experiences of people who are no longer around to tell them. It is so important to make sure that crimes against humanity are never forgotten, so that we do not repeat them in our modern societies. (That seems like...pissing into the wind, really, with the things going on today in the United States with the systematic stripping of women's rights, religious freedoms, the dumbing down and whitewashing of education, and rights for LGBTQIA folks. However, it is very important that we keep learning about these very things and preparing ourselves to fight against them.) There are a lot of details about the lesser taught genocide, which I thought was tremendous. I bought it specifically because I had only read about the Armenian Genocide in passing, and had a deep desire to want to learn more. Mission successful. Even though the book was educational, and also a personal reflection on someone's childhood and family members, the book was easy to read and a page turner. I really enjoyed this book a lot more than I expected to.
February 13, 2019
I come from a lineage of women who sew. My mother sewed both my brother and my halloween costumes throughout our childhood, as often our requests were impossible to find. I come from a lineage of women who sew, and like the ability to speak Armenian, I am the dead end on my family tree to be able to maneuver a needle to create something.
Peter Balakian is also a first generation North American with Armenian ancestry. Like me, he is the dead end to speaking the language, and the end to his father's, grandfather's and great-grandfather's legacy of being a physician. With this commonality thread amongst us, Peter and I also share the memories of piecing together random bits of information gathered over Sunday night dinners with our grandparents and relatives to uncover how our blood was impacted by the Armenian genocide. His novel, Black Dog of Fate, goes through his collection of his familial narriative throughout this time and gives a moving ode to his Grandmother, who survived and escaped a death march during her 20s with 2 young children.
He talked about how his grandmother "eench"ed him to death. Asking him what's the matter? Does he need anything? He talked about how his grandmother called people "tutoum kulukh." My grandmother does both of these things.
As I read this book, I used a hand embroidered book mark to track my progress. This book mark was hand crafted by women in Syria. Women in Syria who have been displaced and through my friend's organization, Tight Knit Syria, are creating a new future for themselves.
My maternal great-grandmother received her nursing degree in Syria in 1918, three years after the Genocide. My other maternal great grandmother carried her sewing machine with her everywhere and sewed for freedom and I currently have that sewing machine in my living room.
It is over 100 years since my great grandmothers escaped and I am safe in Canada marking my progress in a book about that time with a book mark made by women sewing for their future. Women are still sewing for their future 100 years later.
Peter Balakian is also a first generation North American with Armenian ancestry. Like me, he is the dead end to speaking the language, and the end to his father's, grandfather's and great-grandfather's legacy of being a physician. With this commonality thread amongst us, Peter and I also share the memories of piecing together random bits of information gathered over Sunday night dinners with our grandparents and relatives to uncover how our blood was impacted by the Armenian genocide. His novel, Black Dog of Fate, goes through his collection of his familial narriative throughout this time and gives a moving ode to his Grandmother, who survived and escaped a death march during her 20s with 2 young children.
He talked about how his grandmother "eench"ed him to death. Asking him what's the matter? Does he need anything? He talked about how his grandmother called people "tutoum kulukh." My grandmother does both of these things.
As I read this book, I used a hand embroidered book mark to track my progress. This book mark was hand crafted by women in Syria. Women in Syria who have been displaced and through my friend's organization, Tight Knit Syria, are creating a new future for themselves.
My maternal great-grandmother received her nursing degree in Syria in 1918, three years after the Genocide. My other maternal great grandmother carried her sewing machine with her everywhere and sewed for freedom and I currently have that sewing machine in my living room.
It is over 100 years since my great grandmothers escaped and I am safe in Canada marking my progress in a book about that time with a book mark made by women sewing for their future. Women are still sewing for their future 100 years later.
Read
February 10, 2021I read this book for uni so I went into it with a completely different purpose from when I usually read. This, combined more importantly with the fact that this is a memoir that details the horrors of the Armenian Genocide makes it uncomfortable for me to give it a star rating. What I can say, however, is that I very much enjoyed what I gained from this book. It was insightful and enlightening, and still written beautifully and interestingly. I thought the style switches were a bit odd (starting off as a memoir, to a persuasive essay, and then to a history lesson), and it felt a bit dry at times, though that might be due to my personal lack of contextual knowledge. Overall, however, this is a valuable book that is well-written and a solid starting point for learning about Armenian (as well as some other Near-Eastern) history, and I am very glad I read it.
April 10, 2023
The truth of the horrors at the center of the book get unfolded for the reader in such a tactical way — I only had passing knowledge of the Armenian genocide and I learned and felt so much reading this
May 2, 2024
4.5/5 overall, but the chapters near the end as he begins to learn about his family history are so so good. The details are horrific, which just makes the stories all the more important to be read
June 9, 2025
"Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?" -Adolf Hitler, August 22, 1939
How much corrupted money has the Turkish government spent so that I might never know of the genocide of 1.5 million people? How much has the United States government silenced and accepted for some supposed strategic posturing?
"A forgotten genocide is repeated" - Alija Izetbegovic, Srebrenica Genocide Commemoration
My gratitude to and for Peter Balakian's voice and being. My gratitude to and for the generous and loving Armenian people who welcome and care with such warmth while they continue to suffer injustices of the day. My respect and love to and for their ancestors.
How much corrupted money has the Turkish government spent so that I might never know of the genocide of 1.5 million people? How much has the United States government silenced and accepted for some supposed strategic posturing?
"A forgotten genocide is repeated" - Alija Izetbegovic, Srebrenica Genocide Commemoration
My gratitude to and for Peter Balakian's voice and being. My gratitude to and for the generous and loving Armenian people who welcome and care with such warmth while they continue to suffer injustices of the day. My respect and love to and for their ancestors.
Read
March 13, 2020Great book. Informative. Moving. Well written.
November 23, 2022
I learned a lot from this book. And it was mostly incredibly sad. I loved how close he is/was with his family and all the stories.
February 25, 2024
Well written, hard to read some of his families testimonials about the Armenians genocide.
April 17, 2021
At least three times in the last fifteen years, I’ve been approached by someone recognizing the “ian” suffix in my last name and stating that he or she became aware of Armenians and specifically Armenian Americans after reading Peter Balakian’s “Black Dog of Fate,” a 1997 memoir once mentioned as a New York Times notable book. Caught off guard that someone was so touched by a memoir by an obscure, Tri-State area poet, the conversation inevitably turns to genocide and assimilation, themes that Balakian addresses with a unique perspective.
Peter Balakian, a Baby Boomer, was raised in affluent New Jersey suburbs, Teaneck and Tenafly. His passed his childhood in blissful American ignorance, avidly following the New York Yankees and living the typical American suburban childhood that so many Americans recognize. While he was aware that he has an “ian” last name and that his grandmother had some Old World, non-American quirks, he was the paragon of American assimilation, sheltered from Levant realities. Then, in his late teens, he borrowed a book from the library by Henry Morgenthau, the U.S. ambassador to the Ottoman Empire from 1913-1914. Transfixed, he started researching the Armenian genocide and his parents, literally going into his grandmother’s bureau drawers to uncover uncomfortable family secrets; relatives had attempted, unsuccessfully, to sue, through US courts, the Turkish government for restitution. Balakian, became aware that his family had deliberately shielded him from the past. Not only were there genocide survivors in his family, his family was once highly respected in the Istanbul community. Armenian royalty if you will. Years after this memoir, Balakian, with help of Armenian translator Aris Sevag, published an English translation that first appeared in 1922 of his great-grandfather’s, first-hand, survival account, “Armenian Golgotha.” Balakian’s grandfather, Gregoris Balakian, was, as a ranking member of the Orthodox Armenian Church, among the first of the educated, male intelligentsia to be rounded up by the Young Turks. He—quite literally—was one of handful (one hand) of survivors, bearing witness to both genocide and the slave labor partially responsible for the Berlin Baghdad rail line.
What makes “Black Dog of Fate,” ultimately, so compelling is that it is not a mere account of genocide. It is a memoir where a young man gradually learns his buried roots and the choice his family made to keep him in ignorance, a story so many Americans can relate to on some level.
The favorite professor of the woman I dated throughout my undergraduate years at NYU was Peter Balakian’s grandmother, Anna Balakian, who chaired NYU’s Comparative Literature Department and was an international authority on French Symbolism and Surrealism. More than once, I was implored by my girlfriend to take her course. But I was dismissive, suspicious of any “-ian” suffix and—perhaps—afraid at what I might discover.
As I later learned from Peter Balakian’s memoir, I would have learned nothing about the Armenian genocide from taking his grandmother’s course. In his opinion—a epiphanic chapter in “Black Dog of Fate”—his grandmother’s method of coping with reality and memory was to forge an academic career in Surrealism, fleeing from reality and taking solace in abstract poems.
Other Personal Notes:
--Although I’ve only read it one time, years go, this book is incredibly dear to my heart. My own parents, mostly my half Armenian father, also made a deliberate effort to raise me as an oblivious, assimilated American. My family did not attend the Orthodox Armenian Church on 34th and First Avenue and my father had no Armenian friends from the diaspora. Much like Peter Balakian, I had no compulsion to further research my father’s ridiculous euphemism, “The Turks did some bad things,” especially distracted by the Yankees winning the World Series a couple of times in the late 70’s. Only as a junior at New York University, did I dive into the stacks at Bobst library and find a horrifying trove of information that I couldn’t put down. My fascination with this history continues to this day, especially because so much of the initial chronicles were in German and since two famous 20th Century literary accounts of the genocide, Franz Werfel’s “The Forty Days of Musa Dagh,” and Edgar Hilsenrath’s completely brilliant “The Fairy Tale of the Last Thought,” were initially written in German.
--My own family history is even more complicated than Balakian’s. My grandmother emigrated from a town near the Black Forest in Swabia after World War I. My grandfather, whom I never met (he died in 1955), was a polyglot, at least fifteen years older than my grandmother, who had seen the genocide coming and left a town near Istanbul in the early 1900’s. The Germans have, quite rightfully, been accused of turning a blind eye to the genocide; in fact, they advised and helped with it, needing slave labor for the Berlin-Baghdad railway. According to my father (who has finally opened up about such matters), this farrago of perpetrator and victim relatives led to a rift in his family, with the Armenians and Germans never really speaking, especially after my grandfather died. I know nothing of the Armenian side except that there were indeed survivors, some of whom dealt with mental issues as a result of severe trauma.
--The aversion of many Americans to harp on or speak of genocide completely affected my family. While in the fifth grade, a clueless, substitute teacher without a lesson plan decided to just relate the story of Anne Frank. I had never heard of the Holocaust, being shielded by my father for the twofold reason of my victim Armenian ancestry and, by the time of my birth, my two-time offending, perpetrator German roots. I queried my father that night, and he became angry, calling the principle the next day to complain about the subject matter; I later learned that he had to deal with a lot of comments from the 40’s to the 60’s as the son of a very German mother.
When I relate this story today, Americans are shocked at my childhood ignorance. However, when I ask them to pinpoint a time when they learned about the Holocaust or a genocide, they cannot answer (unless they are Jewish). To the best of my recollection, the Holocaust and different genocides throughout history (to speak nothing of the then present, e.g. Cambodia, which, correctly classified, was cultural, mass suicide) were not part of any public school curriculum until junior year of HS. Later, while living in Switzerland, I learned that the same is true in Europe. As an MA German student, I’ve taken specific classes on Verganenheitsbewältigung (coping with the past) and the difficulty Germans have either acknowledging the past or teaching it. Interested Americans would be shocked to learn the way Germans deal or do not deal with their past; it is frightfully similar to Americans and Vietnam.
--American Armenians who grew up in the shielded comfort of the USA, part of the vast diaspora, are derisively referred to by Armenians from the tiny nation of Armenia that still clings to existence as “Shish-kabobs.”
Peter Balakian, a Baby Boomer, was raised in affluent New Jersey suburbs, Teaneck and Tenafly. His passed his childhood in blissful American ignorance, avidly following the New York Yankees and living the typical American suburban childhood that so many Americans recognize. While he was aware that he has an “ian” last name and that his grandmother had some Old World, non-American quirks, he was the paragon of American assimilation, sheltered from Levant realities. Then, in his late teens, he borrowed a book from the library by Henry Morgenthau, the U.S. ambassador to the Ottoman Empire from 1913-1914. Transfixed, he started researching the Armenian genocide and his parents, literally going into his grandmother’s bureau drawers to uncover uncomfortable family secrets; relatives had attempted, unsuccessfully, to sue, through US courts, the Turkish government for restitution. Balakian, became aware that his family had deliberately shielded him from the past. Not only were there genocide survivors in his family, his family was once highly respected in the Istanbul community. Armenian royalty if you will. Years after this memoir, Balakian, with help of Armenian translator Aris Sevag, published an English translation that first appeared in 1922 of his great-grandfather’s, first-hand, survival account, “Armenian Golgotha.” Balakian’s grandfather, Gregoris Balakian, was, as a ranking member of the Orthodox Armenian Church, among the first of the educated, male intelligentsia to be rounded up by the Young Turks. He—quite literally—was one of handful (one hand) of survivors, bearing witness to both genocide and the slave labor partially responsible for the Berlin Baghdad rail line.
What makes “Black Dog of Fate,” ultimately, so compelling is that it is not a mere account of genocide. It is a memoir where a young man gradually learns his buried roots and the choice his family made to keep him in ignorance, a story so many Americans can relate to on some level.
The favorite professor of the woman I dated throughout my undergraduate years at NYU was Peter Balakian’s grandmother, Anna Balakian, who chaired NYU’s Comparative Literature Department and was an international authority on French Symbolism and Surrealism. More than once, I was implored by my girlfriend to take her course. But I was dismissive, suspicious of any “-ian” suffix and—perhaps—afraid at what I might discover.
As I later learned from Peter Balakian’s memoir, I would have learned nothing about the Armenian genocide from taking his grandmother’s course. In his opinion—a epiphanic chapter in “Black Dog of Fate”—his grandmother’s method of coping with reality and memory was to forge an academic career in Surrealism, fleeing from reality and taking solace in abstract poems.
Other Personal Notes:
--Although I’ve only read it one time, years go, this book is incredibly dear to my heart. My own parents, mostly my half Armenian father, also made a deliberate effort to raise me as an oblivious, assimilated American. My family did not attend the Orthodox Armenian Church on 34th and First Avenue and my father had no Armenian friends from the diaspora. Much like Peter Balakian, I had no compulsion to further research my father’s ridiculous euphemism, “The Turks did some bad things,” especially distracted by the Yankees winning the World Series a couple of times in the late 70’s. Only as a junior at New York University, did I dive into the stacks at Bobst library and find a horrifying trove of information that I couldn’t put down. My fascination with this history continues to this day, especially because so much of the initial chronicles were in German and since two famous 20th Century literary accounts of the genocide, Franz Werfel’s “The Forty Days of Musa Dagh,” and Edgar Hilsenrath’s completely brilliant “The Fairy Tale of the Last Thought,” were initially written in German.
--My own family history is even more complicated than Balakian’s. My grandmother emigrated from a town near the Black Forest in Swabia after World War I. My grandfather, whom I never met (he died in 1955), was a polyglot, at least fifteen years older than my grandmother, who had seen the genocide coming and left a town near Istanbul in the early 1900’s. The Germans have, quite rightfully, been accused of turning a blind eye to the genocide; in fact, they advised and helped with it, needing slave labor for the Berlin-Baghdad railway. According to my father (who has finally opened up about such matters), this farrago of perpetrator and victim relatives led to a rift in his family, with the Armenians and Germans never really speaking, especially after my grandfather died. I know nothing of the Armenian side except that there were indeed survivors, some of whom dealt with mental issues as a result of severe trauma.
--The aversion of many Americans to harp on or speak of genocide completely affected my family. While in the fifth grade, a clueless, substitute teacher without a lesson plan decided to just relate the story of Anne Frank. I had never heard of the Holocaust, being shielded by my father for the twofold reason of my victim Armenian ancestry and, by the time of my birth, my two-time offending, perpetrator German roots. I queried my father that night, and he became angry, calling the principle the next day to complain about the subject matter; I later learned that he had to deal with a lot of comments from the 40’s to the 60’s as the son of a very German mother.
When I relate this story today, Americans are shocked at my childhood ignorance. However, when I ask them to pinpoint a time when they learned about the Holocaust or a genocide, they cannot answer (unless they are Jewish). To the best of my recollection, the Holocaust and different genocides throughout history (to speak nothing of the then present, e.g. Cambodia, which, correctly classified, was cultural, mass suicide) were not part of any public school curriculum until junior year of HS. Later, while living in Switzerland, I learned that the same is true in Europe. As an MA German student, I’ve taken specific classes on Verganenheitsbewältigung (coping with the past) and the difficulty Germans have either acknowledging the past or teaching it. Interested Americans would be shocked to learn the way Germans deal or do not deal with their past; it is frightfully similar to Americans and Vietnam.
--American Armenians who grew up in the shielded comfort of the USA, part of the vast diaspora, are derisively referred to by Armenians from the tiny nation of Armenia that still clings to existence as “Shish-kabobs.”
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