Stina Katchadourian

Book by Katchadourian, Stina

This is the story of a Finnish family during World War II, combining a gripping correspondence between the author's parents, who were separated by the war, with the interspersed memories of the author, who was their youngest child. While her father was at the front fighting the Soviets, her mother moved the family around the country, ending up on a farm on the Arctic Circle, trying to keep her daughters safe from Russian bombs. Finland sued for peace with the Soviet Union in 1944, which made them enemies of the Germans, who had a standing army of 200,000 men in Finnish Lapland. War broke out with Germany, and the author's family managed in the nick of time to flee to Sweden. Throughout this historic drama are a tapestry of letters and family stories, along with the touching voice of the little girl Stina, whose observations, reflections, and worries move the reader along to the dramatic conclusion.

As a young woman in 1898, Theresa Huntington left her New England home and traveled to another world. For seven years she lived and worked in Harpoot (Kharpert) in the Ottoman Empire. She wrote home regularly. Now Stina Katchadourian has discovered Theresa's old letters. And they are fascinating. The letters give us insights into the daily lives of Ottoman Armenians. Theresa describes their holidays and celebrations, their social customs and traditions. She writes about how people dressed and what they did in their free time. She describes in mouth-watering detail what they ate. She writes about their friendships and loves, their hopes and their fears. In addition, Theresa gives us an insider's portrait of a missionary community and its relationship to Armenians and Turks during the reign of Sultan Abdlhamid II. Well-written and fun to read, this volume is an excellent introduction to Armenian social history in the late Ottoman Empire.

Finnish (translation)Original Swedish