In the Shadow of Mount Khustup by Cris Patvakanian

Cris Patvakanian, and I am a US diasporan who is originally from Boston.

I was born and raised in the Armenian community of Watertown, Massachusetts, but my ancestral roots come from Syunik, Armenia. In 2023, I travelled to Syunik (Goris and Kapan) to discover my heritage and build my family tree, but that trip became a life changing experience for me.

I had never been there before, and it was a transformative experience meeting the resilient people there, especially after the Artsakh war and all the hardships the veterans and families face now as they now live on the border with Azerbaijan since the ethnic cleansing of Artsakh.

From that experience, I was inspired to write a novel called In the Shadow of Mount Khustup. It is a novel that takes place in Kapan, Syunik and tells the story of a 2020 war veteran, Khatchik Lazaryan, who has grown up in Yerevan but returns to his native village to work at the mines. Little does he know, moving back to the land of his ancestors will reignite a spark with his first love, Siranoush, who is unfortunately engaged. But, their spark is undeniable, and how they come to terms with this predicament will keep you on the edge until the very last page.

The goal of the book is to highlight the local culture, landmarks and stories of the people in Syunik, and heavily features the Kapan local dialect and cuisine.

It is a work of fiction, and my first novel, and so far the reception in Armenia has been very good. I have spoken about the book with the Public Radio of Armenia and at the American University of Armenia, and had book presentations with the Armenian communities at Harvard, MIT and more this upcoming month. Ultimately, my dream is for this novel to become a screenplay and film, to promote investment, tourism, and a strong Syunik for the world to admire – both Armenians and non-Armenians.

If you would consider sharing about my book on the SoCal Armenian Radio, it would be a huge honor and great help to me to spread the word in the United States. As I’m sure you know, all eyes are on Syunik these days, but unfortunately not too many folks (even Armenians in the diaspora) know a lot about the region. I would also be happy to share a copy of the book digitally if you are curious to see the content. It is also on Amazon if you are curious to see reviews thus far.