Song of America

"I chose this book as an example of that because Armenians are one of those people, unfortunately, whose national identity has been very identified with tragedy, with martyrdom. They’re not alone. We think of the Irish, the Jews, the Palestinians as nations who have some very awful tragedy at the centre of their historical experience. Armenians obviously fit into that category. But I chose this book because it’s an example of how it doesn’t have to be like that. It was published in the 50s and it’s a very affirming story of someone who has overcome the experience of immigration and tragedy and makes it in America. He’s a classic American immigrant in that he celebrates his birthday on July 24th, which was the day in 1922 when he landed at Ellis Island. He describes how he founded a famous restaurant in San Francisco, then went to Europe in the aftermath of the Second World War and was in charge of food operations for the US Army. Get the weekly Five Books newsletter It’s a great read. It’s not as though he was suppressing the Armenian tragedy, but he’s writing a story of emigration, of adaptation, of survival. It’s a rather bracing and a rather different take on Armenian history."