Orhan's Inheritance by Aline Ohanesian

Based on the author's own family history, this contemporary story is, at its heart, a tale of what many term the Armenian genocide of 1914.  No one is surprised when Kemal leaves his very successful Turkish textile business to his grandson Orhan by-passing his shiftless son.  What does surprise everyone is that he has left the family home to a woman the family has never heard of.  Orhan discovers that she is living in California in a home for elderly Armenians.  Their discussions reveal a secret family history that is both tender and tragic.  The chapters alternate between Orhan's contemporary struggle with his father and events at the beginning of the 20th century that gradually become a significant part of his own story.  This is a passionate tale of a part of history of which I was only vaguely aware.