Riverbig- A Book Reading by
Aris Janigian
Wednesday, April 1 • 7:30 PM
University Business Center • Fresno State
Alice Peters Auditorium
Free
Admission and free parking in UBC Lot and Lot J.
Riverbig, Aris Janigian.
Heyday, $21.95 (256p).
This
introspective second novel from California writer Janigian (Bloodvine) relates the tale of an agrarian Armenian-American family scrambling
to survive in 1964 Fresno. Farmer Anday Demerjian, 33, is kicked off their land by his brother, Abe, after a loan scheme between them
goes bad. Unable to support his wife and two young children, Andy hauls produce to L.A. until a fortuitous run-in with two entrepreneurs,
one of whom Andy knows from school. Vibrant Armenian culture is smartly stitched into the plot, including historical rancor toward
domineering Turks. Janigian’s prose provides rich detail (and then some) on agricultural life in an engrossing, satisfying tale of
betrayal, feud and redemption.
“Aris Janigian’s Riverbig—funny, deep, sad, soaring—is the work of a prodigiously gifted novelist
who writes like no one else.”—Aram Saroyan, author of Friends in the World: The Education of a Writer
March 2009 • Vol. 30, No. 3 (105)