The Knock at the Door: A Mother's Survival of the Armenian Genocide

By Margaret Ajemian Ahnert

Book Overview

"Together, their stories realize in intimate but accessible terms the vagaries of historical memory and Ester's determination to tell the truth, despite the understandable urge among some victims to forget, in the face of an official policy of denial from Turkey that continues today." -- Publisher's Weekly

In 1915, Armenian Christians in Turkey were forced to convert to Islam, barred from speaking their language, and often driven out of their homes as the Turkish army embarked on a widespread campaign of intimidation and murder. In this riveting book, Margaret Ajemian Ahnert relates her mother Ester's terrifying experiences as a young woman during this period of hatred and brutality.

At age 15, Ester was separated from her family during a forced march away from her birth town of Amasia. Though she faced unspeakable horrors and was forced into an abusive marriage against her will, she never lost her faith, quick wit, or ability to see the good in people. Eventually she escaped and emigrated to America.

Ahnert's compelling account of her mother's suffering is framed by an intimate portrait of her relationship with her 98-year-old mother. Ester's inspiring stories, told lovingly by her daughter, will give you a window into the harrowing struggle of Armenians during a terrible period in human history.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0825306833
• ISBN13: 9780825306839
• Release Date: June 2012
• Publisher: Beaufort Books
• Length: 209 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Every so often.....

There are plenty of books which grapple with the ills of humanity. But what renders this book so touching and rare, is the time it took Margaret Ahnert to gather the story, organize the tales of an old woman - her adored mother, and allow it to warm and educate the reader. Time, not in the hours of completing the book-writing task, but instead the decades of devotion listening to her mother speak her story. I could imagine...

Amazing Book

Once I started reading it was impossible to stop. The story is so deep with details that transports you into the time of the events. I was so compelled by the author's mother's struggle to survive this atrocity, but her faith and courage made her overcome all the obstacles to reach her dreams. Let this be a lesson to us about acknowledging all crimes against ethnic groups that are still happening around the world and we just...

Powerful human story

The Knock at the Door is an amazing book that chronicles a horrible part of history endured by Ester, a young Armenian woman, in the early 1900's. Normally, it would be very difficult to read of such atrocities. However, the author, who is also Ester's daughter, has filled this story with love, while giving us a close look at some very difficult and personal events in her courageous mother's life. In the book, Ester says that...

HISTORY MADE REAL

This is one of those rare books of historical exegesis that so draws you in, it is almost impossible to put down. Margaret Ahnert opens up a neglected moment in history, one that has haunted her family since she was born. For near a century the Armenian genocide in Turkey has been told through dry statistics and to my knowledge this is the first book that emboldens the atrocities by using the vehicle of a single victim, the...

A Heartfelt and Personal Recollection of Tragic Events

Margaret Ahnert's "The Knock at the Door" is a very personal and touching tribute and remembrance of her mother, who suffered through but survived the Armenian genocide by the Ottoman Turks in 1915. That her reading and book signing in New York City was disrupted by Turkish naysayers is testimony to the power and significance of her work. The charming mother/daughter story juxtaposed with the vivid retelling of the Armenian...