Callie's Review
I found The Knock at the Door by Margaret Ajemian Ahnert to be a very touching memoir that allows the reader to connect with a personal story about the horrors of genocide and the lasting influences it has on people. The memoir was very well written and the switching perspective throughout the work allowed for me to see the ways that Ester's experiences had influenced her daughter's way of thinking.
I did not know much about the Armenian Genocide before reading this book which did pose some difficulties in understanding the reasons for the start of the genocide. However, the book did offer explanations of many concepts that I did not know about since Ester herself was a child when this occurred and many things were explained to her because she herself did not understand. I would definitely teach this book, but I would want to teach more about the actual history of the genocide so that students have some context about the events that occurred. The memoir focuses more on the experiences on Ester rather than facts about the timeline and causes of the genocide.
The only warnings that I would give about this novel are the descriptions of violence, death, and rape in the story. Some of the writing is graphic; the acts of violence and murder are more graphic than the sexual abuse. However, the students would have to understand the serious nature of the events before reading the novel.
Overall I thought this memoir would be a good companion novel to a unit on the history of the genocide.
Overall Rating: 9 out of 10
I did not know much about the Armenian Genocide before reading this book which did pose some difficulties in understanding the reasons for the start of the genocide. However, the book did offer explanations of many concepts that I did not know about since Ester herself was a child when this occurred and many things were explained to her because she herself did not understand. I would definitely teach this book, but I would want to teach more about the actual history of the genocide so that students have some context about the events that occurred. The memoir focuses more on the experiences on Ester rather than facts about the timeline and causes of the genocide.
The only warnings that I would give about this novel are the descriptions of violence, death, and rape in the story. Some of the writing is graphic; the acts of violence and murder are more graphic than the sexual abuse. However, the students would have to understand the serious nature of the events before reading the novel.
Overall I thought this memoir would be a good companion novel to a unit on the history of the genocide.
Overall Rating: 9 out of 10