Dreams of Bread and Fire

by Nancy Kricorian Poetic and assured, the second novel by the critically acclaimed author of Zabelle is the story of a young American woman whose half-Jewish, half-Armenian heritage seems a mere footnote to her own identity until the dark shadows of history propel her into a profound and passionate series of journeys -- a quest for a long-dead father, a search for the clues of a nearly forgotten genocide, and a love threatened by a quietly gathering storm of murder and retribution. Ani Silver is desperately in love with a New England boy with a trust fund as big as his appetites. While studying in Paris, she receives a letter from him ending their relationship and begins a series of romantic misadventures. It is not long before Ani reconnects with a childhood friend, an elusive and intriguing character whose preoccupation with the Armenian heritage they share provides Ani with a new connection to her identity -- even as she begins to suspect that he has a secret, and dangerous, identity himself. Both funny and heartbreaking, clear through to its bold and exquisite conclusion, Dreams of Bread and Fire is an irresistible novel of passion, ideals, and the temptations -- and dangers -- of trying to outrun our origins. ‎ Grove Press, First Edition (2003)