Narine Abgaryan is probably the most popular Armenian writer nowadays. Her books are published in dozens of countries and in thousands of copies, The Guardian called Abgaryan one of the brightest writers in Europe. We recorded this interview in Armenia, which has just lost the war with Azerbaijan over disputed territories, has taken in refugees and is learning to live again. Just as Narine – a heroine of our new "Tell Gordeeva" episode, the first one in 2024.
#tellgordeeva #abgaryan
Contents:
00:00 The main Armenian legend about love
03:09 «We couldn`t defend our people» — about the war in 2020
05:08 «If you deny the obvious, you will never rise from your knees»
06:40 «Armenia is hanging by a thread»
09:12 A bit of optimism
12:00 «it's hard to watch how our parents are handling this defeat»
13:55 «It was a biblical flight» — about Armenian refugees from Artsakh
14:55 «We ourselves didn`t manage to hold onto Artsakh»
17:36 «My Russian sounds like Armenian»
18:21 «Russia`s priorities changed»
19:37 «In 2020 Moscow turned into Moscowbad»
22:27 «People here are magical» — We are in Dilijan
24:59 «Armenians can distinguish government from people»
26:11 «A boy is standing and crying into the pizza» – a story of a Russian emigrant
27:46 «My son was born in Moscow. He hasn`t been there for three years»
31:56 «I don`t think people who attacked Ukraine read Dostoevsky»
34:21 «Russia is not my enemy»
36:44 «Armenia is a very simple country»
37:38 «We were always cold and talked about food» — Armenia in the 1990s
39:47 «Birds flocked together and screamed» — about an earthquake in Armenia
41:46 «We can just seize to exist tomorrow»
43:46 «Life is like a plain ticket» – a wise advice from Dilijan
45:11 Narine`s accent
47:40 «Moscow was large, frightening, and imperially detached»
49:01 «My friend had $20 000, we bought some jeans» – a story of conquering Moscow
52:21 «I was the stupidest accountant»
53:56 «We are witnessing the disintegration of an Empire»
59:47 Falling in love and getting married when you`re 50
1:02:24 «I wasn`t ready for love»
1:04:50 «I named my son after a fairytale character»
1:05:39 «I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis» – the story of Narine`s first book
1:07:59 «Go and live» — how Narine`s diagnosis got canceled
1:10:11 «We choose all our trials before coming into this world»
1:13:46 «You`re grieving, and other people grieving, and this grief is also yours»
1:17:24 «We are a people who always run»
1:19:52 «My friend lied to his wife and went to fight in Artsakh»
1:25:41 «During the blockade in Artsakh people gave away everything to feed cats and dogs»
1:27:00 Ruben Vardanyan
1:30:17 «It`s the most difficult to love your homeland when it is lost»
1:32:55 «Women who made us» — Narine Abgaryan`s new book
1:34:24 How are women different from men?
1:38:15 «Berd that was described in Manyunya doesn`t exist anymore»
1:39:28 «The evil is spreading»
1:41:37 «It`s very important to stop in time»
1:46:28 «I learned how to sleep again»
1:47:14 «We don`t have the right to give up»
Narine Abgaryan https://www.facebook.com/abgaryannarine/
Katerina Gordeeva https://t.me/skazhigordeevoy
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skazhigordeevoy
Twitter https://x.com/skazhigordeevoy
Collaboration: Andrey anlyalin@gmail.com