#fortydaysofmusadagh — Public Fediverse posts

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The Forty Days of Musa Dagh -- Franz Werfel

I read this 1933 novel a little while ago. It's a long, one might almost say sprawling, fiction of an Armenian community's 1915 resistance to the genocide enacted by the.Young Turks.

The narrative of a community under siege is gripping, but the novel also deals with complex themes of identity, community, and nationality. As one might expect from a German speaking Jew who grew up in the capital of the Czech lands of Austria-Hungary, Werfel's treatment of the themes of nationalism and cosmopolitanism are, thankfully, never simplistic.

Obviously , much of the book's significance rests on it being an early literary response to the Armenian genocide. I'm sure that a horrified desire to learn about this campaign of persecution, exile, and killing accounts for much of the success that this book achieved in the US market on its publication in 1934. A readiness to learn about a gruesome episode in the "war to end all wars" probably played a part too in boosting sales.

I would also hazard a guess that for many readers in the thirties, the novel's story of a community's survival, albeit at a terrible price, could be seen as a parallel for the survival by individuals,families, and cities of the unprecedented hardships and upheavals of the Great Depression. The success of "Gone With The Wind" comes to mind.

Another parallel that now seems eerily prescient is that of...

#Books #Fiction #Novels #FortyDaysOfMusaDagh #FranzWerfel #LiteratureInGerman #ArmenianGenocide #20thCenturyLiterature #1930s #GreatDepression

🧵 1/3

The Forty Days of Musa Dagh -- Franz Werfel

I read this 1933 novel a little while ago. It's a long, one might almost say sprawling, fiction of an Armenian community's 1915 resistance to the genocide enacted by the.Young Turks.

The narrative of a community under siege is gripping, but the novel also deals with complex themes of identity, community, and nationality. As one might expect from a German speaking Jew who grew up in the capital of the Czech lands of Austria-Hungary, Werfel's treatment of the themes of nationalism and cosmopolitanism are, thankfully, never simplistic.

Obviously , much of the book's significance rests on it being an early literary response to the Armenian genocide. I'm sure that a horrified desire to learn about this campaign of persecution, exile, and killing accounts for much of the success that this book achieved in the US market on its publication in 1934. A readiness to learn about a gruesome episode in the "war to end all wars" probably played a part too in boosting sales.

I would also hazard a guess that for many readers in the thirties, the novel's story of a community's survival, albeit at a terrible price, could be seen as a parallel for the survival by individuals,families, and cities of the unprecedented hardships and upheavals of the Great Depression. The success of "Gone With The Wind" comes to mind.

Another parallel that now seems eerily prescient is that of...

#Books #Fiction #Novels #FortyDaysOfMusaDagh #FranzWerfel #LiteratureInGerman #ArmenianGenocide #20thCenturyLiterature #1930s #GreatDepression

🧵 1/3

The Forty Days of Musa Dagh -- Franz Werfel

I read this 1933 novel a little while ago. It's a long, one might almost say sprawling, fiction of an Armenian community's 1915 resistance to the genocide enacted by the.Young Turks.

The narrative of a community under siege is gripping, but the novel also deals with complex themes of identity, community, and nationality. As one might expect from a German speaking Jew who grew up in the capital of the Czech lands of Austria-Hungary, Werfel's treatment of the themes of nationalism and cosmopolitanism are, thankfully, never simplistic.

Obviously , much of the book's significance rests on it being an early literary response to the Armenian genocide. I'm sure that a horrified desire to learn about this campaign of persecution, exile, and killing accounts for much of the success that this book achieved in the US market on its publication in 1934. A readiness to learn about a gruesome episode in the "war to end all wars" probably played a part too in boosting sales.

I would also hazard a guess that for many readers in the thirties, the novel's story of a community's survival, albeit at a terrible price, could be seen as a parallel for the survival by individuals,families, and cities of the unprecedented hardships and upheavals of the Great Depression. The success of "Gone With The Wind" comes to mind.

Another parallel that now seems eerily prescient is that of...

#Books #Fiction #Novels #FortyDaysOfMusaDagh #FranzWerfel #LiteratureInGerman #ArmenianGenocide #20thCenturyLiterature #1930s #GreatDepression

🧵 1/3

The Forty Days of Musa Dagh -- Franz Werfel

I read this 1933 novel a little while ago. It's a long, one might almost say sprawling, fiction of an Armenian community's 1915 resistance to the genocide enacted by the.Young Turks.

The narrative of a community under siege is gripping, but the novel also deals with complex themes of identity, community, and nationality. As one might expect from a German speaking Jew who grew up in the capital of the Czech lands of Austria-Hungary, Werfel's treatment of the themes of nationalism and cosmopolitanism are, thankfully, never simplistic.

Obviously , much of the book's significance rests on it being an early literary response to the Armenian genocide. I'm sure that a horrified desire to learn about this campaign of persecution, exile, and killing accounts for much of the success that this book achieved in the US market on its publication in 1934. A readiness to learn about a gruesome episode in the "war to end all wars" probably played a part too in boosting sales.

I would also hazard a guess that for many readers in the thirties, the novel's story of a community's survival, albeit at a terrible price, could be seen as a parallel for the survival by individuals,families, and cities of the unprecedented hardships and upheavals of the Great Depression. The success of "Gone With The Wind" comes to mind.

Another parallel that now seems eerily prescient is that of...

#Books #Fiction #Novels #FortyDaysOfMusaDagh #FranzWerfel #LiteratureInGerman #ArmenianGenocide #20thCenturyLiterature #1930s #GreatDepression

🧵 1/3

The Forty Days of Musa Dagh -- Franz Werfel

I read this 1933 novel a little while ago. It's a long, one might almost say sprawling, fiction of an Armenian community's 1915 resistance to the genocide enacted by the.Young Turks.

The narrative of a community under siege is gripping, but the novel also deals with complex themes of identity, community, and nationality. As one might expect from a German speaking Jew who grew up in the capital of the Czech lands of Austria-Hungary, Werfel's treatment of the themes of nationalism and cosmopolitanism are, thankfully, never simplistic.

Obviously , much of the book's significance rests on it being an early literary response to the Armenian genocide. I'm sure that a horrified desire to learn about this campaign of persecution, exile, and killing accounts for much of the success that this book achieved in the US market on its publication in 1934. A readiness to learn about a gruesome episode in the "war to end all wars" probably played a part too in boosting sales.

I would also hazard a guess that for many readers in the thirties, the novel's story of a community's survival, albeit at a terrible price, could be seen as a parallel for the survival by individuals,families, and cities of the unprecedented hardships and upheavals of the Great Depression. The success of "Gone With The Wind" comes to mind.

Another parallel that now seems eerily prescient is that of...

#Books #Fiction #Novels #FortyDaysOfMusaDagh #FranzWerfel #LiteratureInGerman #ArmenianGenocide #20thCenturyLiterature #1930s #GreatDepression