
Black Dog of Fate
A Memoir
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Narrated by:
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Peter Balakian
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By:
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Peter Balakian
The first-born son of his generation, Peter Balakian grew up in a close, extended family, sheltered by 1950s and '60s New Jersey suburbia. He was immersed in an all-American boyhood defined by rock 'n' roll, adolescent pranks, and a passion for the New York Yankees that he shared with his beloved grandmother. But beneath this sunny world lay the dark specter of the trauma his family and ancestors had experienced: the Turkish government's extermination of more than a million Armenians in 1915, including many of Balakian's relatives, in the century's first genocide.
In elegant, moving prose, Black Dog of Fate charts Balakian's growth and personal awakening to the facts of his family's history and the horrifying aftermath of the Turkish government's continued campaign to cover up one of the worst crimes ever committed against humanity. In unearthing the secrets of a family's past and how they affect its present, Black Dog of Fate gives fresh meaning to the story of what it means to be an American.
©1998 Peter Balakian (P)2011 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...




















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Eh
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If you could sum up Black Dog of Fate in three words, what would they be?
MemoirHistory
Shocking
Who was your favorite character and why?
PeterWhat about Peter Balakian’s performance did you like?
Poetic intensityIf you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
. . . and you thought "Stand By Me" was a good story!Any additional comments?
Loved itGreat book!
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Amazing storytelling - for an amazing story
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What did you love best about Black Dog of Fate?
I could not get past the reader's tedious monotone...if I had not needed to finish this book for a book group, I never would have made it to the end. I wanted to put it down after an hour.Author /reader?
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Story everyone should read
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couldn't put it down
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The writer’s narration lacks any performative elements, and is unfortunately mundane and even a bit annoying. His attempts at pronouncing Armenian words and names was so belabored, it was almost frustrating, since I’ve heard non-Armenians do a much better job of it. This may only register for Armenian speakers, since I imagine that others wouldn’t even know how comically “Americanized” Balakian’s pronunciations of even his own family members’ names were. I realized early on, at least for me, this would’ve been a much better read than a listen..but I stuck through it anyhow. My advice: Absolutely read it. Listen to it if you must. But, in no case, turn away from this poignant memoir. Trigger warning: for tender-hearted readers, the depictions of brutality, rape, mass murder, child abuse, and many more unspeakable crimes against humanity are exceedingly graphic and were almost too difficult for me, even though I am familiar with this history. Steel yourself.
A story of a people’s survival against all odds.
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What did you like best about Black Dog of Fate? What did you like least?
I have been waiting to listen to this book for a long time. Finally, it was the right time and I downloaded it. And, the author is not the person to read this. He makes it too much of a poem and the cadence is difficult.i will read this one...difficult to listen to
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One of the best
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This was a privilege, thank you Peter Balakian
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