★Rights sold to Bulgaria, Armenia, Hungary, and Arab countries!
★Narine Abgaryan’s collection of short stories Go on Living poses the simplest yet hardest question about how, in the aftermath of terrible tragedy, people learn to live, love and hope anew, while cherishing the memories of the loved ones lost.

Set in the picturesque village of Berd, the collection traces the interconnected lives of its inhabitants, seemingly unremarkable villagers who go on about their lives, tending to their daily tasks, engaging in their quotidian squabbles, and celebrating small joys amid a luscious, beautiful local landscape. Yet their seemingly unremarkable existence in a setting imbued with a deliberate sense of being suspended in time and space belies an unspeakable tragedy: every character in Agbaryan’s stories must contend with the unbearable burden of loss that they have suffered during the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the early 1990s.

The war itself rages largely off the book’s pages and appears only in small and fragmented flashbacks, and Abgaryan’s stories focus instead on the war’s aftermath, portraying the different ways in which the survivors work, as individuals and as a community, to find a way forward. For some, the toll is a psychological one, as the opening vignette introduces the reader to Zanazan, a beautiful young woman who has lost her unborn child, her husband, and her ability to speak to enemy shelling, and who now lives in the care of her elderly mother-in-law. The middle-aged Metaksia visits her stepson’s grave and chats with him as if they were sitting across from each other at a dinner table. Agnessa, whose ill-fated desire to keep her daughter warm in a bomb shelter has cost her not only her own limbs but also the life of her child finds love and a chance at redemption with a new family. Lusine, who barely recalls her mother, abducted and brutally murdered by the enemy, receives, as an engagement present, the last surviving rug woven by her mother. Anichka, whose entire family has been brutally murdered, forges a platonic relationship with a widower whose son has been left incapacitated by yet another act of senseless violence.

The characters in Abgaryan’s book have lived through unimaginable loss, but their sadness is described as cathartic, engendering hope where all hope must be lost. The book, set up as 31 interconnected short stories, has no single protagonist; instead, the book is centered around the resilience of the human spirit and its ability to soar above. Written in Abgaryan’s signature prose style that weaves elements of Armenian folkloric tradition into its prose, the book simultaneously mourns and celebrates human life.

About the Author
Narine Abgaryan:“In today’s world, there are wars in different places, why are wars going on all the time, why do humans make so many mistakes, this is the work of our generation. We have different places to live, different stories, feelings and mindsets , but we our tears and blood are the same, the pursuit of happiness is the same, and the joy and sorrow we feel are the same." - Narine Abgaryan

Born in Armenia in 1971, Narine Abgaryan grew up in a family of doctors and teachers. The grandparents were refugees from Western Armenia. Graduated from Yerevan State University of Linguistic Studies and obtained the Russian language and literature teacher qualification certificate. Narine has lived in Moscow since 1993.

The Guardian called Narine Abgaryan - one of the brightest writers in Europe. Her words have the power to penetrate the soul. Narine Abgaryan's book has been translated into 23 languages ​​and has sold over 600,000 copies! Narine Abgaryanis a loyal reader of One Hundred Years of Solitude. Her works are dedicated to restoring Armenia in the long history and deep memory, which is the destination of her soul.

"Manyunya's Childhood" is the author's debut, and is also the winner of the 2010 Best Manuscript and Russian Literature Award. Its adapted script will be staged in SamArt and Omsk Youth Theater, and also been adapted into a 10-episode TV series of the same name in 2021! Her literary work "Three Apples Fall from the Sky" won the Yasnaya Polyana Award! Authorized to publish in 13 countries! "Simon" shortlisted for the 2021 Russian Big Book Award! Her children's work "The Graffiti Story of Semien Andrei" won the "Little Nose" award at the 2013 New Literature Award and was named the best children's book of the last ten years in Russia! "The Giant Who Dreamed of Playing the Violin" was named the best children's book by the Papmambuk portal. She also authored a collection of excellent works such as "People Who Are Always With Me"!