Narine Abgaryan; translated by Lisa C. Hayden
Three Apples Fell From the Sky by Narine Abgaryan, translated from the Russian by Lisa C. Hayden, echoes an old Armenian saying. An omniscient narrator tells the story of a group of aging villagers in the isolated, fictitious village of Maran, located in the Armenian mountains. The story unfolds in three parts: For the One Who Saw, For the One who Told the Story, and For the One who Listened. It concludes with a short epilogue.
The narrative opens with the gentle, fifty-eight-year-old Anatolia Sevoyants, the youngest resident of Maran. Experiencing heavy vaginal bleeding for several days, Anatolia is convinced she has only a few days to live. She approaches her impending death with equanimity, feeding her chickens, laying out her burial clothes, leaving money aside for her funeral, and opening the window so her soul can escape. As she lies in bed waiting patiently for the grim reaper to come knocking, she recalls her childhood and unhappy first marriage to an abusive spouse. When the grim reaper doesn’t come calling, Anatolia calmly gets out of bed to perform her chores.
Anatolia is just one of the delightfully quirky characters in this heart-warming tale. Among them are Yasaman and Ovanes, her kind neighbors; Vasily, the outwardly gruff but inwardly gentle village blacksmith who marries Anatolia late in life; Satenik, Vasily’s cousin who urges him to re-marry after the death of his first wife; Magtakhin, Vasily’s deceased first wife who acts as guardian angel to his infant daughter; and Valinka, who uses the coffin of a neighbor’s mother-in-law to transport a new pair of shoes for her deceased husband residing in the after-life. The back stories for each of the characters are woven throughout the narrative with the community emerging as the actual protagonist of the story. Women form the backbone of the community, holding it together with their culture, traditions, communication, work ethic, empathic care-giving, and use of natural methods of healing for common and not so common ailments.
The characters form a unique bond. They share in each other’s sorrows and celebrate each other’s joys. Together, they have braved earthquakes that swallowed up some of their neighbors and homes on the mountain side; devastating famines that reduced their population; wars that killed off many of their sons, brothers, and husbands; swarms of insects which devoured their crops; blizzards, snowstorms, and droughts that further isolated their village. Their aging and dwindling population takes whatever calamities life throws at them without lapsing into cynicism or despair. They make do, share resources, and function as an egalitarian community while performing their daily rituals of cooking, harvesting crops, taking care of animals, chopping wood, mending clothes, and looking out for each other. Buffered by their cultural traditions, superstitions, and folklore, they communicate with deceased loved ones who appear to them in dreams or as apparitions. But not even the occasional visit from a ghost phases them.
The story’s fable-like qualities gradually draw the reader in to the rhythm and pace and atmosphere of village life where a group of aging villagers with a strong sense of community nourish and sustain each other. The overriding atmosphere is one of peace and acceptance. The elements of magical realism, including visits from ghosts and a mysterious peacock, are handled unobtrusively as if they are part of the fabric of life.
This is a beautiful story, beautifully told, and beautifully translated with an abundance of effective visual and sensory imagery immersing the reader in the sights, sounds, and smells of village life. It is a story of resilience, friendship, compassion, and generosity of spirit that serves as a gentle reminder of the importance of community in nurturing and sustaining life.
A heartwarming story threaded with tender and loving humor. Highly recommended.