Amity

By (author): Nasreen Pejvack

Amity provides a window to the wreckage caused by wars–the destruction and displacement that leave pain and life-long psychological disorders, here specifically within the contexts of Yugoslavia’s dissolution and Iran’s revolution.Payvand, an Iranian refugee and activist, still plagued with nightmares, meets a Ragusa, a Yugoslavian refugee whose pockets are loaded with stones as she prepares to walk into the water and end her life, a life that has become intolerable since the loss of those most dear to her.Payvand listens to Ragusa’s story and Ragusa promises to postpone her suicide at least until she hears Payvand’s story in turn. In a novel that strives to raise awareness about the extent to which elites manipulate nations into wars, with total disregard for the lives of millions like Payvand and Ragusa, it is the warmth of personal relationships and friendships forged that are key to healing.

AUTHOR

Nasreen Pejvack

Nasreen Pejvack was born in Tehran, Iran, where pre-revolution she worked as a writer and poet for an activist publication. She moved to Greece due to the brutal aftermath of the 1979 revolution in Iran. After living in Athens for almost two years, she immigrated to Canada and today she lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, where she currently works with the North Vancouver school district. Amity is her debut novel.

Reviews

“Apart from being a beautifully written and heart-wrenching novel, this is an important book, a timely book that needs to be read and, read now. It speaks powerfully to the devastating anguish of families ripped apart by war and conflict, of loved ones tortured and killed — we hear the news, but it all happens outside of us, far away, and our empathy is unavoidably remote. The imagery in this novel is so vivid, I felt as if I were watching a movie, sitting with Payvand and Ragusa as they forged an unbreakable bond while retelling the stories of their shattered lives. When I finished the book, I felt as if they too were my friends, to be remembered and carried in my heart.”–Lisa de Nikolits, author of A Glittering Chaos, The Witchdoctor’s Bones and Beneath the Cracks She Fell

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Excerpts & Samples ×
Amity provides a window to the wreckage caused by wars–the destruction and displacement that leave pain and life-long psychological disorders, here specifically within the contexts of Yugoslavia’s dissolution and Iran’s revolution.Payvand, an Iranian refugee and activist, still plagued with nightmares, meets a Ragusa, a Yugoslavian refugee whose pockets are loaded with stones as she prepares to walk into the water and end her life, a life that has become intolerable since the loss of those most dear to her.Payvand listens to Ragusa’s story and Ragusa promises to postpone her suicide at least until she hears Payvand’s story in turn. In a novel that strives to raise awareness about the extent to which elites manipulate nations into wars, with total disregard for the lives of millions like Payvand and Ragusa, it is the warmth of personal relationships and friendships forged that are key to healing.

Reader Reviews

Details

Dimensions:

304 Pages
8.25in * 5.5in * 1in
1lb

Published:

October 20, 2015

Country of Publication:

CA

ISBN:

9781771332378

Book Subjects:

FICTION / Literary

Featured In:

All Books

Language:

eng

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