Tomas

TOMAS is an experimental novel about a writer who seeks new continents to regain identity by denying a colossal past. The author recalls his experiences in Turkey with his closest friend and confidant, Tomas, in terms of associations and emotions rather than logic and plot. As the novel develops in the Middle East, Paris, New York and Montreal, Tomas becomes the symbol of the deracinated and rootless Armenian whose dream cannot flourish in the old world and who cannot abide the new. Tomas was bored in Ararat—the air was suffocating. Tomas went to Paris—Peggy, I love your naked image, he shouted. Tomas came to Montreal—he noticed the boulevards were frozen. The author reminisces about Tomas and Tomas depicts with ailing impatience the agony inflicted upon him. The story is created as they try hard to compose their days into life. A.J. Hacikyan creates a drugged atmosphere through an exiled vision; this makes him different and yet comparable to Lawrence Durrell and Panai't Istrati.