The Sandcastle Girls

A Novel

By: Chris Bohjalian

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell, Alison Fraser

Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

Over the course of his career, New York Times best-selling novelist Chris Bohjalian has taken readers on a spectacular array of journeys. Midwives brought us to an isolated Vermont farmhouse on an icy winter's night and a home birth gone tragically wrong. The Double Bind perfectly conjured the Roaring 20s on Long Island - and a young social worker's descent into madness. And Skeletons at the Feast chronicled the last six months of World War Two in Poland and Germany with nail-biting authenticity. As The Washington Post Book World has noted, Bohjalian writes "the sorts of books people stay awake all night to finish."

In his 15th book, The Sandcastle Girls, he brings us on a very different kind of journey. This spellbinding tale travels between Aleppo, Syria, in 1915 and Bronxville, New York, in 2012 - a sweeping historical love story steeped in the author's Armenian heritage, making it his most personal novel to date.

When Elizabeth Endicott arrives in Syria, she has a diploma from Mount Holyoke College, a crash course in nursing, and only the most basic grasp of the Armenian language. The First World War is spreading across Europe, and she has volunteered on behalf of the Boston-based Friends of Armenia to deliver food and medical aid to refugees of the Armenian genocide. There, Elizabeth becomes friendly with Armen, a young Armenian engineer who has already lost his wife and infant daughter. When Armen leaves Aleppo to join the British Army in Egypt, he begins to write Elizabeth letters, and comes to realize that he has fallen in love with the wealthy, young American woman who is so different from the wife he lost.

Flash forward to the present, where we meet Laura Petrosian, a novelist living in suburban New York. Although her grandparents' ornate Pelham home was affectionately nicknamed the "Ottoman Annex", Laura has never really given her Armenian heritage much thought. But when an old friend calls, claiming to have seen a newspaper photo of Laura's grandmother promoting an exhibit at a Boston museum, Laura embarks on a journey back through her family's history that reveals love, loss - and a wrenching secret that has been buried for generations.

©2012 Chris Bohjalian (P)2012 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"The granddaughter of an Armenian and a Bostonian investigates the Armenian genocide, discovering that her grandmother took a guilty secret to her grave. . . . [An] unforgettable exposition of the still too-little-known facts of the Armenian genocide and its multigenerational consequences." ( Kirkus Reviews, starred review)

"Chris Bohjalian is at his very finest in this searing story of love and war. I was mesmerized from page one. Bravo!" (Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife)

;In his latest novel, master storyteller Chris Bohjalian explores the ways in which our ancestral past informs our contemporary lives--in ways we understand and ways that remain mysteriously out of reach.

The Sandcastle Girls is deft, layered, eye-opening, and riveting. I was deeply moved." (Wally Lamb)

Tough subject matter but worth the read.

This was the first novel I’ve read detailing the Armenian Genocide and some of the details were difficult to digest. It’s an interesting portrayal from multiple view points. Overall the story kept my interest and i appreciated the history lesson of this dark event that is outlined throughout the novel.

A Lesson in History, Love and More

What did you love best about The Sandcastle Girls?

That it is both a love story and a history of an area of the world that I knew very little about.

What other book might you compare The Sandcastle Girls to and why?

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, because it also tells a story of another time, the love between two people of different nationalities, and the oppression and pain of war.

Which character – as performed by Cassandra Campbell and Alison Fraser – was your favorite?

Elizabeth

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Yes, it opened my eyes to a whole world that I never knew of . . .a time and place that I was unaware of . . . and it helped me to put things into perspective regarding that area of the world today . . .

Any additional comments?

One of the best audio books I have listened to. I think that men and women both would like this book.

I wish I took history in high school!

I have learned so much fascinating history through my 500+ audiobooks! One book leads me to another and then ties in with something I listened to 40 books a Good! Soon I'll be able to pass high school history at age 60!

Absorbing story of Genocide in Turkey

What did you love best about The Sandcastle Girls?

I really liked the fact that it was such an eye opener about the attrocities committed against the non-Turkish citizens living in Turkey.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Sandcastle Girls?

When we discovered the supposed "dead" wife was still alive.

Which scene was your favorite?

There were too many. Many of the interesting scenes couldn't be called favorites because
they were too gruesome, but still very moving and certainly attention holding.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Epic Story of Genocide in Turkey

Just so/so

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The length

Would you recommend The Sandcastle Girls to your friends? Why or why not?

Maybe

Which character – as performed by Cassandra Campbell and Alison Fraser – was your favorite?

I liked both

Was The Sandcastle Girls worth the listening time?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

I haven't actually finished this one. I really like the author but this book failed to keep my attention. Maybe it was too long. I think I will pick it back up during a dry spell and try again.

Survival

This was a beautiful yet horrific story of survival based on historical fact. It was also a love story and secrets shared and secrets kept all for the sake of love. Narrators did an amazing job.

A story you don't know about...

Would you listen to The Sandcastle Girls again? Why?

Based on historical facts, the this fictional story line has a realistic plot; tragic, heartwarming and very well performed.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The young orphan whose Armenian name I don't know how to spell.

Maybe You Have to be Armenian

I am just getting to Know Bohjalian as an author. I am not overly enthused with this book or Midwives that I read previously but not willing to give up further books by him. As an Armenian my family is always on the lookout for stories of our heritage. The Armenian genocide has been kept silent, as noted in this story. So maybe one has to be Armenian to connect to this tale. My grandparents were already in this country when the events of this book occurred. But they left knowing it was coming. Other family members and certainly friends did not escape as they had.

The characters develop well. The premise of a "crash course" in nursing doesn't ring true (especially as I teach nursing) for today, but it may have in 1915. But that is not an essential part of the story. The essential part is the love story. Two people meet and have an instant attraction. They are separated, struggle to get back together, and have horrific experiences during that time. In modern times, the granddaughter struggles to find the truth. And what a truth she discovers. Altogether, it is a beautiful story.

Did I stay up all night to finish it? No. Is this book one of my absolute overall favorites? No. Is it a worthwhile purchase? Yes. The story is important to be told. The narration was well done. The mini-stories of the minor characters definitely add to it all.

Incredible Story about the Armenian Genocide

This is an engaging story that starts in 1915 and finishes in the present 2012. The author presents a fictional story that is representative of what occurred in Turkey when the survivors of the genocide mainly women and children marched into Aleppo to be helped by early relief efforts to save them. Years later the granddaughter of the central character finds photographs in the Armenian Museum in Watertown,Ma that show her Grandfather as a survivor. The granddaughter finds letters and pieces the story together. The story is well done!

Elizabeth’s dilemma

The ending needed to be expanded to include her future thoughts on her situation and how she felt as an elderly woman.