Novel
Publisher: Tigran Mets Publishing House
ISBN: 9789994105328
PDimensions: 6.5x9
504 pages (hardcover)
Publication Date: 2013
Available in Armenian
 
The Flying African follows the journey of an unnamed traveler, a young Armenian writer who spends fifty-four adventurous days in Africa, one day in each of the continent's countries. Fifty-four chapters provide vignettes of the visits to each country, in which the traveler experiences the beauty of the land and the complexity of the people, as well the continent’s darker side: the on-going effects of colonization, war, poverty, and disease. While it is impossible to understand the whole of Africa or even one country in a short visit, each chapter provides a snapshot of something significant about the country visited, grounded in its own history, culture, and customs. 
 
Ultimately, the traveler, and the reader along with him, takes a complex journey of letting go of expectations and opening up to the profound effects of encountering what is both familiar and foreign.