In this deeply moving debut, a close-knit Armenian-American family grapples with the aftermath of losing one of their own. Outside Detroit on the island of Gross Ile, the Kurkjians receive news that Mari, the eldest of their youngest generation, has swum into the middle of Lake Michigan with no intent of returning to shore-the consequences of which drag out a deeply rooted pain passed down from generations before. More than a century earlier, Gregor, the great-grandfather and patriarch of the Kurkjian family, survived the Armenian Genocide after fighting for his freedom atop Musa Dagh. In the present day, his epic mythos is inherited by his family as they navigate living in its shadow, decades later and miles away. As the Kurkjians struggle with their new, devastating loss, secrets and shortcomings rise to the surface, until each relative must decide: Where does their own story fit in the narrative of their family's fraught history? For fans of Tommy Orange's There, There and Thao Thai's Banyan Moon, Waterline explores the complex beauty of diaspora, the weight of inherited trauma, and the echoes of the Genocide on contemporary Armenian life. This is a searing portrait of a family afloat in grief and the perseverance needed to rise above. "A gripping journey through time, Mrjoian brings readers deep into the heart of the Armenian Genocide and its ripples across generations. With a voice wholly unique in its style, Mrjoian weaves a powerful tapestry of survival, identity, and resilience, all the while never abandoning what makes this book that rare great novel: feeling, the very thing that each of us knows and that binds us. It is no wonder, then, how Mrjoian is able to find the beauty in the brutality of this history, and in the unyielding spirit of family. Waterline is a must-read-intense, moving, and unforgettable." - Morgan Talty, national bestselling author of Night of the Living Rez and Fire Exit "Waterline is a moving portrait of grief and the shadows of silence. Aram Mrjoian shines a piercing and wise light on the way the members of one Armenian family care for and alienate each other with their secrets, and asks the question, how do we keep loving through unspeakable loss?" - Vanessa Chan, bestselling author of The Storm We Made

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