The long-awaited English translation of Letters from Zaatar, the novel by author, playwright, artist, and monologist Vahe Berberian, has been published and is now available worldwide through Amazon in both print and Kindle editions.
First published in Armenian in Los Angeles in 1996, Letters from Zaatar quickly became one of the most widely read novels among Armenian Diaspora readers and went through three printings. This marks the book’s first English-language publication.
The story takes place in the fictional country of Zaatar. The novel follows Zohrab Anmahouni, a Los Angeles-based architect who unexpectedly accepts a post as consul in a distant and politically unstable country. What initially appears to be a temporary escape gradually turns into a profound personal confrontation with loneliness, displacement, memory, desire, and the slow erosion of identity.
Blending political satire, existential comedy, and marital drama, Letters from Zaatar explores exile not only as a geographic condition, but also as a psychological state. Tender, absurd, and darkly humorous, the novel examines what happens when escape becomes a trap, and when distance ultimately forces a person to confront himself.
Berberian personally translated the novel into English, returning to and revisiting the work nearly three decades after its original publication.
“Returning to Zaatar after all these years was a strangely tender and unexpectedly moving experience,” Berberian writes in the preface to the new edition. He adds that the book was written with the urgency of youth and a raw honesty eager to tell a story. For that reason, he felt compelled to make small revisions to certain sections during the translation process.
Known for his distinctive blend of humor, philosophical reflection, and social commentary, Berberian has published numerous novels, plays, and monologues.
Letters from Zaatar is now available on Amazon in print and Kindle editions.
