A haunting yet heartwarming fable set in a remote Armenian mountain village. Abgaryan weaves together the lives of elderly villagers with warmth, grief, and wonder — part family saga, part fairy tale.
Set in the remote Armenian mountain village of Maran, Three Apples Fell from the Sky is a haunting yet heartwarming tale that feels equal parts fable and family saga.
The narrative opens with Anatolia Sevoyants, an elderly widow quietly preparing for death. Three interconnected sections weave together the lives of elderly villagers — farmers, priests, postmen, widows — whose feuds, gossip, and joys sustain them through decades of famine, earthquakes, wars, and loss.
What Abgaryan does so remarkably is balance darkness with genuine warmth. Even amid tragedy, her characters laugh, cook, argue, and care for one another. Vivid details — a painting of a white peacock that watches over generations, a boy with the gift of foreseeing disasters, the subtle bickering of the priest and the postman — create a world of resilience and shared humanity.
This is, at its core, a healing book. It acknowledges death and disaster but insists that life, like the changing colors of the sky at sunset, remains fleeting, lively, and beautiful.
The book draws comparisons to One Hundred Years of Solitude — both blend hardship and community with wonder — but Abgaryan’s voice is distinctly, beautifully Armenian. The final symbolism says it all: three apples fell from the sky, one for the storyteller, one for the listener, and one for those who believe in goodness. That spirit infuses every page.