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About the author and blogger ...

Anne Goodwin’s drive to understand what makes people tick led to a career in clinical psychology. That same curiosity now powers her fiction.
A prize-winning short-story writer, she has published three novels and a short story collection with small independent press, Inspired Quill. Her debut novel, Sugar and Snails, was shortlisted for the 2016 Polari First Book Prize.
Away from her desk, Anne guides book-loving walkers through the Derbyshire landscape that inspired Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre.
Subscribers to her newsletter can download a free e-book of award-winning short stories.

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Migration and memorial: The Spice Box Letters by Eve Makis

27/3/2015

15 Comments

 
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Sorting through the effects of her beloved grandmother, Mariam, shortly after her death, British journalist, Katerina Knight, discovers a wooden spice box containing a journal and stack of handwritten letters. The documents are written in Armenian, a language which neither Katerina nor her mother understands but, on holiday in Cyprus, Katerina meets a handsome young man who offers to translate them. Mariam’s scribbles tell of relatives lost to slaughter and exile in the 1915 Armenian genocide, of a fortuitous rescue by an English couple and a country childhood ending with another lost love. Meanwhile, Gabriel, an elderly Armenian living in Nicosia, exiled a second time with the partitioning of Cyprus into Greek and Turkish sectors, is bemoaning his granddaughter’s engagement to a man from outside the community, perceiving it as a betrayal of her origins, as cultural genocide, although one of his drinking friends advises tolerance (p175-6):

‘Let go of the past, my friend. All that stored up resentment isn’t good for the soul.’

‘The past is not like water in a toilet bowl. It can’t be flushed away. It’s a septic tank growing more rancid by the day.’

The reader discovers before he does Gabriel’s link to Mariam and Katerina, and from that point the novel is driven by the question of whether these characters will finally connect.

I was drawn to this novel by the topic of the Armenian genocide, a subject that is still denied in some quarters and rarely addressed in fiction, Lionel Shriver’s We Need to Talk about Kevin a notable exception. Initially, this left me with a little less patience for the contemporary strand of the novel and the question of whether Katerina herself would find love. But each of the three strands is essential to the story, united in a moving finale that brought tears to my eyes. It reminded me
somewhat of Victoria Hyslop’s bestseller, The Island, although I liked The Spice Box Letters better.

I was excited to be able to attend the launch event for The Spice Box Letters at
Five Leaves Bookshop to hear Eve Makis read two beautiful extracts from her novel. The first evoked the sights and smells of a busy marketplace in 1915 eastern Turkey, when a young Mariam first encounters hostility towards the Armenians; the second, the novel’s humorous introduction to Gabriel’s curmudgeonly character (p 71):
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Basturma sausages hang menacingly over my head, a dozen cumin-centred parcels, bunched like fists. I look up at them and wish they would fall and inflict a fatal blow. ‘Gabriel Arakelian killed by falling basturma,’ they would write on my gravestone. Gabriel Arakelian, who cheated death time and time again, was finally and thankfully seen off by a sausage. At least I will not leave this world smelling of formaldehyde but scented with eau de cumin, garlic and fenugreek. The Armenian has arrived, the dead will say, when my pungent spirit reaches the other side.

Thick with the aroma and flavour of traditional Armenian cuisine (although I did begin to wonder about my virtual calorie consumption as I read through the lists of sumptuous home-cooked dishes), The Spice Box Letters is about the fragmented histories arising from the refugee experience and about the endurance of family love. Thanks to Sandstone Press (publishers of The Surfacing) for my review copy. If this review has whetted your appetite, I also urge you to read about the author’s connection with Cyprus on Isabel Costello’s literary sofa.

The latest Carrot Ranch Flash Fiction Challenge reminded me of another aspect of Gabriel’s history portrayed in the novel. Charli Mills asks us to write a 99-word story including a juxtaposition between the ordinary and natural worlds. I wasn’t so sure about the distinction between those terms, but I was inspired by other aspects of Charli’s post, including mining and medical care, in composing my flash:

I was glad to make my home in the mountains, with a cooling breeze moderating the heat of the Mediterranean sun. On feast days, we’d dance and drink with the neighbours, the violins muffling the drone of the mine. No-one complained about the dust that clung to every surface, that wormed its way into our lungs. In our eyes, the village was beautiful, clothed in white the whole year round.

Now I lie in the hospital, a mask strapped to my face. People cringe on learning what put food in our bellies back then. Asbestos. Natural isn’t always best.

Fortunately, in the novel, Gabriel moves away from the asbestos mine before it does him real damage.

I’d love to know what you think.



Thanks for reading. I'd love to know what you think. If you've enjoyed this post, you might like to sign up via the sidebar for regular email updates and/or my quarterly Newsletter.
15 Comments
Charli
27/3/2015 03:26:32 pm

I'm captivated by the book and its topic. Sounds like a successful weaving of character threads.

Your flash fiction is a story that could be portrayed in many places throughout time. One of the worst asbestos inflicted communities in the US is in a small town in Montana. The result of decades of pollutant from the logging mill that provided jobs. No jobs now, but plenty of illnesses. Great take on the prompt!

Reply
Annecdotist
28/3/2015 11:02:51 am

Glad you like the sound of the book, Charli, and yes, when you think about it so many jobs have led to industrial illnesses the world over, with people having to fight to get compensation. Asbestos is just one of many examples.

Reply
sarah link
28/3/2015 10:28:22 am

Agreed with Charli on the flash. Great story, though. Always amazed by what the Rough Writers can do in 99 words.

This is an intriguing novel. The sick truth is that cultural genocide is denied too often. It's absurd and other dirty, bad words I won't muck up your comments with. The launch event sounds wonderful. Great review, as always, Anne.

Reply
Annecdotist
28/3/2015 11:05:48 am

Thank you, Sarah, and I'm with you on the genocide denial. This was my second launch events this month and I really enjoyed both. Not living in London or near any of the other major cities, I haven't being able to attend many author events, but I really like hearing people read their own work.

Reply
Norah Colvin link
30/3/2015 04:46:34 am

I'm with you on that. I love it when I listen to an audio book read by the author! :)

Ken Cummings
28/3/2015 05:20:35 pm

I spent two years in Turkey in the 196-'2 and lived through the Cypress partition. Moun tain climbing near t he Persian border I saw the ruins of the Armenian Church/Monastery on the west shoulder of Mt. Ararat. When i learned I was going to Turkey Dad sent me a copy of The Forty Days of Musa Dag. Father to Son he advised me, "Do not bring up the subject of the genocide." Did Hitler once say,"Why are you complaining about the Final Solution. The Turks did is only a few decades ago."

But - sorry Grandfather - it is her life to live.

Reply
Annecdotist
30/3/2015 06:10:34 am

Welcome to my blog, Ken, and thanks sharing your informed perspective. I didn't know that Hitler had referred to the Armenian genocide – how interesting, and disturbing.
But totally agree, regardless of the atrocities suffered by previous generations, we must allow people to live their own lives.

Reply
Irene Waters link
29/3/2015 06:47:12 am

The book sounds as though it would be good to read. Another on my list for the future. You have me intrigued also by saying that all the threads are necessary for the story and am looking forward to read the finale.
Your flash shows the consequences of many mining ventures. Asbestos one of the worse but coal and CSG are also bad. Our worst asbestos disaster was Wittenoon in Western Australia. Although there are three people still living there it is a ghost town. The town itself was decommissioned so no roads or services need to be maintained.

Reply
Annecdotist
30/3/2015 06:15:04 am

Sorry for adding to your TBR pile yet again, Irene. Yes, it all comes nicely together in the end.
I don't we have asbestos in the UK but of course the effects of coal mining illnesses remain a problem. Wittlehoon Sounds an interesting place (in a disturbing way) – how strange for the three people still living there, doubly abandoned with no services to their town.

Reply
Norah Colvin link
30/3/2015 04:48:53 am

So this was one of the launches your attended, Anne. How exciting. Had you met Eve previously?
I really enjoyed the passage introducing Gabriel. How funny! And what a way to go! As much as I think going in my sleep would be the ideal, this would be far more memorable!
The imagery and choice of words is remarkable. I particularly enjoyed the likeness of the past to a septic tank becoming rancid. Now there's a juxtaposition for you!
And your flash. Now that is certainly a contrast. For years the people went on mining ignorant of the danger they were in. All the while the authorities knew but chose to do nothing about it. Dreadful. Your flash depicts that very well.
And of course the genocide in the novel. I think this would definitely be an interesting read. I do like novels that include changes over generations.

Reply
Annecdotist
30/3/2015 06:21:09 am

No, I didn't know Eve previously, but I know her now and hope to keep in touch! I enjoyed the event immensely, as well as starting the learning process for my own book launch in the summer!
I agree that the language and imagery is lovely, as it is throughout the novel. Yes, it doesn't do much to help the cause of capitalism for workers to be informed of the health risks. Today, people seem to be so complacent, joking about Health and Safety being overprotective without acknowledging the contribution to protect in those with the least power. Looks like we're heading back in that direction where employers can do as they like.

Reply
geoff link
1/4/2015 12:48:43 pm

one of my legal experiences was dealing with the aftermath of environmental crimes - where the owner of a business caught out denying its workers proper recompense for grievous damage done to them or their relatives then tried to sell on the possibly still valuable rump of the business. Some nasty people out there. And then, at the Olympics I was caught in a firestorm when Dow Chemical came in as the official sponsor of the 'wrap' the material that literally wrapped the main stadium just as the Indian government was seeking to tear up a settlement over Bhopal signed with Union Carbide twenty fives years before (UC were by ten a subsidiary of Dow, the rump having been bought in a way similar to my earlier experiences with others). The Indian government had a moral point in that the settlement was clearly inadequate by 2012 standards but the best guess in the 1980s but legally it didn't stand up - thought now we see the other side as BP are continually dragged into bigger and wider litigation over the Deep Water Horizon catastrophe. Capitalism doesn't work when it loses all moral focus (of course it is true capitalism has no moral focus but those who enjoy its fruits need to keep sight that, at the end of the day, it is a system about people; otherwise it will not survive the regular buffetings). Thank you to your flash for reminding of those experiences. And sorry for hogging your comments!

Reply
Annecdotist
2/4/2015 07:29:47 am

You're very welcome to hope the comments, Geoff, and it's interesting to have your lawyerly perspective on this. Mmm, I'm not sure that capitalism has ever had a moral focus as its main purpose is to make money for the shareholders; however, I suppose we have had – and still do – some moral people engaging in business, and balancing the making of money with ethical concerns. But it does make me laugh when our current right-wing government is aghast at the greediness of some companies, as if they don't understand their own philosophy – or maybe I'm just too cynical or naive!

Reply
Annecdotist
3/4/2015 04:42:50 am

Hog the comments I meant but hope is nice too!

Charli Mills
2/4/2015 11:56:02 am

One day, I need to pick your brains for "Warm Like Melting Ice" which is a novel I drafted and includes a plot line about arctic drilling for oil. I'm interested in writing the duality of small communities like Baffin Island who "need" the economies of modern capitalism because traditional subsistence has become to dangerous. Oil companies are smacking their lips in preparation for the ebbing of sea ice and Inuit hunters are dying each year because the ice shelf has become unstable. Which idea captivates us? Profiting from climate change or its impact on a small group of people without a voice in our loud mainstream world? I'm grateful for your perspectives and for Anne's generosity in our discussion here! Of course, she's the one who gets us thinking! :-)

Reply



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