Three Kisses of the Cobra featured in World Literature Today (November 2016):
“Three Kisses of the Cobra takes readers on a thrilling adventure that navigates between the seams of empire during the nineteenth century as an Armenian merchant hailing from Persia becomes one of the first settlers in Singapore. Using the “found memoir” as her device, Z. T. Balian re-creates a lost and fascinating world for readers that is sure to linger in the imagination long after the final page is turned.”
http://www.worldliteraturetoday.org/2016/november/nota-benes-november-2016
Review by Hamid Dabashi
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2016/04/time-cosmopolitan-east-iran-160404063151789.html
Excerpts from the review:
“Balian is a gifted storyteller…Three Kisses of the Cobra [is] a delightful novel about a fictional Armenian trader named Vartan who travels around the world before he eventually settles in Singapore…The book thus navigates around the globe mapping out the life and adventures of this Vartan in the course of which we get to know about him and about a crucial period in mid-19th century navigational routes and commercial interactions. Balian’s [novel] [is] wonderful and engaging…Reading Three Kisses of the Cobra, two contradictory thoughts come together to embrace the idea of being Armenian: a deep sense of belonging and a widening horizon of expansive geography. It seems the wider that horizon, the deeper that sense of belonging. It is as if Armenians had to be dispersed around the globe to discover who they are, and allow the rest of the world to discover itself in their company.” – Prof. Hamid Dabashi (Columbia University), Al Jazeera English
Review by Shahe S. Kazarian
“Z. T. Balian’s compelling narrative of the transcultural odyssey of Vartan unfolds this Armenian hero’s transcendental struggles with childhood adversities, exile from the homeland, and sacrificial love. A positively engaging novel!” – Prof. Shahe S. Kazarian (American University of Beirut), author of Reflections of My I
