THE MIGRANT AND THE MAVERICK
This book falls into a different genre from the others. It is an allegory. The two main characters are not humans, but Ken, a Rhode Island Red rooster, and Helen, a Canada goose.
The best introduction to the book would probably be the review by the well-known author and illustrator, Lucine Kasbarian, published under the title “Three Books That Merit Reading” in the Armenian Mirror-Spectator and “Three Books Not To Be Overlooked” in the USA Armenian Life magazine.
[Since the review covers two other books, only that portion of it relevant to this book is reproduced below.]
On the surface, this is a straightforward tale about Ken, a Rhode Island Red rooster whose life is forever altered by the arrival of migrant Canadian geese, and goose Helen with whom he develops a fond relationship.
Helen teaches Ken about migratory (and worldly) ways and not a moment too soon. Ken’s keepers are readying to slaughter him, spurring him to prepare for flight.
Upon closer reading, we discover the tale’s moral and political underpinnings — particularly as they relate to trials undergone by refugees and immigrants who reinvent their lives on foreign soil, and to whom this book is dedicated.
Ken and Helen deliberate about how social attitudes around the world can differ depending on circumstances, culture and environment. They also express opinions on a range of issues dominating today’s headlines, such as global hegemony, climate change, nationalism, immigration, reproductive rights, gun control and political correctness, giving readers much to weigh and consider. Sometimes didactic, often touching and almost always thought-provoking, the Migrant and the Maverick is the product of a diplomatic, perceptive and sensitive soul. A financier by profession, Alexander became acquainted with Armenia through his work there with Christian relief organizations such as World Vision and the Fuller Center for Housing. Though himself not ethnically Armenian, Alexander mentions the Armenians in every one of his six published books and is considered an honorary Armenian by Choice by his peers.
[The Armenian Mirror-Spectator, November 23, 2018; The Armenian Review, November 18, 2018]
Please also see also the blurb on the back cover reproduced below.
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Book Presentations
1. Bureaucrat bookstore and café in Yerevan, Armenia, on the 14th July, 2017.
2. St. Illuminator’s Armenian Apostolic Church, New York, on the 10th December, 2017.
Copyright © 2016 Abie Alexander Category: POE005010 Fiction/Literary
First Published: 2017 AA Books, Maryland, USA
978-1-946593-28-3 [Paperback] $6.99 200 pages (ASIN: 1946593281)Amazon Kindle
B072LNW116 [MOBI] 2014AA Books, Maryland, USA
978-1-946593-29-0 [EPUB] 2017 978-1-946593-30-6 [AZW3] 2017
978-1-946593-31-3 [MOBI] 2017 978-1-946593-32-0 [PDF] 2017Barnes & Noble Nook Press
————- [EPUB] 2017
The Back-cover Blurb
Which camp are you in – conservative or liberal?
What is your stance on borders, immigration, and refugees?
Does prejudice and political correctness wear you down?
Do you believe in gender equality?
Are you pro-life? Pro-war? Or both?
Do we care for the whole environment or just our pets?
Do you swear by your right to bear arms?
Not easy questions.
Read the allegoric story of Ken, the maverick Rhode Island Red rooster, and Helen, the migrant Canada goose, who says, “Humans are mostly inhuman.”