Category Archives: Book Review

Grant Matevosyan

Posted on April 20, 2021 by Joel D. Hirst

I love literature that is grounded. Stories that emerge from the darkened forests, crystal lakes and crisp mountain pastures where sheep are raised in the summer and which are lost to the forbidding snow, sequestered away and quiet during the … Continue reading →

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“By far the best fiction I’ve ever read” she said

Posted on April 16, 2021 by Joel D. Hirst

“The narrative is masterfully crafted, and I find it baffling the author is someone other than Charles himself. (…) I, Charles from the Camps, is by far the best piece of fiction I’ve ever read.” Read the full review below… … Continue reading →

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Wind in the Willows

Posted on April 10, 2021 by Joel D. Hirst

Is there anything for little boys like the adventure of Mole and Badger and Rat – and of course the ineffable Toad? Of Toad’s exuberance, Mole’s gentle loyalty, Rat’s wisdom, and Badger’s bravery? Up against the evil weasels who have … Continue reading →

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“Song of America” by George Mardikian

Posted on April 4, 2021 by Joel D. Hirst

There is something extraordinarily good, tremendously fresh and clean and pure about “Song of America” by George Mardikian. Mardikian is a now-famous Armenian-American restauranteur and philanthropist who became successful despite the ‘old world’ difficulties – genocide by the Young Turks … Continue reading →

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“I Want To Live” – by Shukshin

Posted on March 24, 2021 by Joel D. Hirst

It is through the simple stories of writers like Vasily Shukshin that we get a glimpse behind the iron curtain into the world of everyday citizens of the Soviet Union. The struggles with poverty, the community frustrations, the attempts to … Continue reading →

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A Defeat Better Than Many Victories

Posted on March 16, 2021 by Joel D. Hirst

“A Defeat Better Than Many Victories” Because that is what, at the end, life is about. And what better time to learn this simple truth, than these the worst years of all. For it is in the victories which you … Continue reading →

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My Name is Aram

Posted on February 17, 2021 by Joel D. Hirst

There is something earthy, well-connected to the land in Armenian literature. The golden sunsets across the mountains, the pale white powdery snow, the gentle goodness of the tastes close to nature – figs and grapes and nuts, occasionally meat when … Continue reading →

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“Managerialism” in America

Posted on February 14, 2021 by Joel D. Hirst

I think it’s safe to say that Karl Marx would not have recognized the mystical lands behind the iron curtain. I think it’s also fair to say that Adam Smith would not have recognized 1950s America. I do however believe … Continue reading →

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Red Pawn – A Review

Posted on January 28, 2021 by Joel D. Hirst

This comic book tells the tale of sacrifice. “How can that be?” You will ask. “It is a story by Ayn Rand, after all. Isn’t she only about how to be selfish?” There is no greater love of self than … Continue reading →

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A River Runs Through It

Posted on January 28, 2021 by Joel D. Hirst

In days of angst and rage it is to art, and specifically to literature that we return to remind us of the American experience and what it means to be part of each other. “Eventually, all things merge into one, and … Continue reading →

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