Three Apples Fell from the Sky – Book Review

Author: Narine Abgaryan

Genre: Fiction, fable

My rating: ★★★★☆

Expected Release Date: 5th March, 2020 by Oneworld Publications
Format: Kindle, 256 pages

What did I think?

Author, Narine Abgaryan, gave me plenty to enjoy in this fable detailing the difficulties facing Maran, a small mountain village in Armenia. Much of the book details the lives and history of the townspeople with a focus in particular on several of their stories. Coming to part two I thought it might be a book of three shorter stories. I guess it was, yet the stories were linked by setting, by surrounding people.

I loved hearing about the food, the houses, the work and chores, the gardening, the plants, animals, clothing, the struggle to keep the library open, the ceremonies and markets. The struggle. I was fascinated by all of that. Then on top of that there was the story lines: tragic, the moving, the joyous, the ‘magical’ (and I don’t mean Harry Potter stuff).

It was like going back in time in many respects. I really felt like I got a good idea of how the characters lived and survived there and that part, for me, was fascinating. Their lives were simple – but not always in a good way. The town was dying gradually, it’s people ageing and suffering through famine, war and disasters. Maran residents rarely had access to the goods and services they needed, including medical care. Yet it wasn’t all negative, either. There was a lot of sharing, caring, teasing, and love in the community.

If I had a paper version of this book, I would place it with my favourite books. It’s one I may well refer back to.

Thank you to Oneworld Publications publisher, Net Galley, and the author, Narine Abgaryan, for my copy of the book. It was given in return for an honest review.