“Hayastan – My Love Story” Book Presented in Oslo, Norway

OSLO — Sven-Erik Rise a Norwegian friend of Armenia, presented his book, a love confession to Armenia and Armenians, to an excited audience in Oslo on Sunday, the Armenian Cultural Association of Norway reports.

Sven-Erik is an Armenia expert who has written articles and op-eds about Armenia and the Armenian genocide in national and local newspapers. He has led many public lectures about Armenia for different audiences. He has also led a tour for an enthusiastic group of Norwegian tourists. Sven-Erik Rise proudly calls himself an “Armenian-by-choice” and dreams of having an Armenian passport.

The book is a breathtaking story of his love to a country and its people, presented in a most intimate, humoristic and personal manner. In the book, the author takes the reader to a tour in Armenia, where he and his Turkish friend explore the country, meet many exciting people who have many good stories to share. The author discusses the Armenian Genocide, compares with the Jewish Holocaust, analyses the denialist industry and discusses the Artsakh conflict (Nagorno Karabakh conflict). This book is a good mix of a novel and a well researched and argumented work, which makes it easy to read and gives the reader a fascinating and exciting reading experience.

The introduction of the book is written by auther and veteran journalist of the state broadcaster NRK, Jahn Otto Johansen.

The book has got many good reviews, among others from author and TV personality Stein Morten Lier.

The master of ceremonies was Magnus Jensen. Among speakers were author and TV personality Stein Morten Lier, the leader of the Armenian Cultural Association of Norway Liana Arutyunyan, representative of the Armenian Apostolic Church Society Narine Harutyunyan and representative of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee Lene Wetteland.

Half of the print copies were sold by the end of the book presentation.