The Forty Days of Musa Dagh

by Franz Werfel, Geoffrey Dunlop (Translator)

Overview

“In every sense a true and thrilling novel.”—New York Times Book Review

The heroic story of resistance during the Armenian genocide. This is the story of how the people of several Armenian villages in the mountains chose not to obey the deportation order of the Turkish government. Instead, they fortified a plateau on the slopes of Musa Dagh and repelled Turkish soldiers and military police during the summer of 1915 while holding out hope that the warships of the Allies would save them. An international bestseller when first published in 1933, Franz Werfel's masterpiece brought the world's attention to this devastating crime against humanity and the Armenian people.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781567924077
Publisher:	David R. Godine, Publisher
Publication date:	01/31/2012
Pages:	893
Sales rank:	652,405
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.50(h) x 2.10(d)

About the Author

Franz Werfel was one of Austria’s most renowned writers at the end of the 1920s. In the 1930s, however, the humanist, anti-genocide stance he expressed in works such as The Forty Days of Musa Dagh, as well as his Jewish heritage, attracted the censure of the Nazis. His books were among the many that were burned amidst accusations of conspiracy and decadence. In 1940, Werfel fled to the United States via France and Spain and settled in Los Angeles.

Table of Contents

	Introduction	ix
Book 1	Coming Events
1.	Teskere	3
2.	Konak--Hamam--Selamlik	22
3.	The Notables of Yoghonoluk	41
4.	The First Incident	65
5.	Interlude of the Gods	123
6.	The Great Assembly	152
7.	The Funeral of the Bells	236
Book 2	The Struggle of the Weak
1.	Life on the Mountain	295
2.	The Exploits of the Boys	338
3.	The Procession of Fire	395
4.	Sato's Ways	483
Book 3	Disaster, Rescue, the End
1.	Interlude of the Gods	529
2.	Stephan Sets Out and Returns	566
3.	Pain	612
4.	Decline and Temptation	637
5.	The Altar Flame	679
6.	The Script in the Fog	754
7.	To the Inexplicable in Us and Above Us!	811
	List of Characters	819
	Glossary of Armenian and Turkish Terms	821

Editorial Reviews

The Forty Days of Musa Dagh will invade your senses and keep the blood pounding. Once read, it will never be forgotten.”—The New York Times

“A crackling read. Symphonic in its handling of profound themes, respectful of its most vacillating characters, Werfel’s novel is a grand and satisfying story about the necessities and difficulties of leadership.”—Booklist

From the Publisher