B.A.B.A.E.L.

As far as I'm concerned, this book just showed up in the mail one day. I honestly can't remember if I requested it, won it, or just got lucky. But it's certainly the nicest thing to show up on my doorstep in a long time.

First of all, the cover design is great. Yes, Virginia, you should judge your books by their covers. If covers were so unimportant, publishers would just bind everything in plain black. Instead, if they think a book really merits it, then they spend a lot of time and money making sure a book's cover communicates something.

In this case, I found the cover slightly reminiscent of that haunting National Geographic photo taken in Afghanistan a couple of decades ago of the girl with the striking eyes. Whether or not the allusion was intentional or one of those things only I can see, I think that the key word here is haunting, because haunting describes very well what the story is, and what the story is about.

Nominally, the novel covers the WWI-era Armenian genocide, interestingly, not from the sympathetic point of view of an Armenian, but instead from the weird visions of a 90-something émigré, Emmet Conn, who is in turn experiencing the story through the eyes of a gendarme -- an officer who escorted thousands, then only hundreds, of deported Armenians out of Turkey.

It is also a novel about memory, and how memory can haunt us. And how there are things we cannot, and, frankly should not forget.  And, of course, love.

However, like the beautiful Araxie's mismatched eyes ( a nice detail seen on the full cover), there is a lack of perfection in this story. I do wish it were as charming as the those eyes.

The story really wraps itself up in a neat little bow, something I normally like, but this was almost too easy and too complete. Or, as someone put it, "messy stories ought to  have messy endings." I couldn't have put it better and hope that Mr. Mustian realizes that next time, as well.

But I hope he realizes it, because I sincerely hope that there is a next time. Overall, the writing was beautiful, powerful, and, yes, haunting. The Gendarme is a book likely to stay with me for a long time.