Zero points which changed the path of civilization
Author, PR Specialist Narek Malian Presents his New Novel "Point Zero"
Host - Naira Poghosyan
"The book is dedicated to the terrorist acts that took place in Paris in November 2015. That terrorism left a very deep mark оn my soul, as a creative person.”
"The book describes the "zero" points of civilization that changed the course of human history, in general, the course of civilization. Pope Urban's famous speech in November 1095, the liturgy at Notre Dame Cathedral, in which he called for the start of the Holy War, the first war on a religious basis known to mankind. By a very interesting coincidence, in November 1092, religious terrorism was established in the Alamut fortress of Persia. And imagine my shock and surprise when I realized that the Bible's words: “For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind.” were coming true! In November 2015, 920 years after Pope Urban's speech, the same speech seemed to be echoed in the same country, in the same city. People who thought they were religiously oblivious started to kill hundreds of people. Exactly 920 years ago that wind was sown, not getting into details, not supposing and predicting what storm the next generations would reap.”
"There are too many coincidences in history. By studying history more artistically, you look for providence, supernatural influence, give it a long-lasting consideration, many things become clearer.”
"In “Point Zero” I have tried to describe the real goals of the so-called sacred wars to real people."
"Some of the events in the plot line take place near the stone called “Point Zero" near Notre-Dame de Paris. There are other "zero points", as well. They are more immaterial, “zero points” of civilization."
"There is a puzzling part in the book, the discovery of which is left to the reader. It is written in an interactive way, through a dialogue with the reader. Through the story line, the reader himself participates in many interesting events, perhaps too familiar, however, the events that have not been deeply analyzed so far.”
"This is a story about manipulations, brainwashing, playing on religious sentiments, the first attempts in civilization to lead people to violence, terrorism, the response to which we see and receive to this day."
"I try to look for the main reason in everything and find it. During the days of the terrorist attacks in Paris in 2015, using various sources of information, I tried to understand what is the cause, what is the source of this violence?"
"My father has had the deepest and greatest influence on me, both as a person and as a priest. My father is my strictest critic and the most dissatisfied person with me. As a person, as an individual I exist as much as my father was involved in my upbringing or my personal development"
"I would like to reveal a secret. One of the first zero points in the book is the story of Pharaoh Akhenaton. He was the first ruler in the history of mankind who tried to carry out a religious reform and to convert to monotheism. Akhenaton went against polytheism, which, of course, failed and had a very short life. However, if we consider religion not a theological, but a social-political tool, then Pharaoh Akhenaton was the first in the history of religion to carry out a religious revolution."
"The reader will definitely come to the conclusion that religion is love itself, there are just people who try to direct that love, religious feelings, use them for different purposes"
"I predict that my father will not agree with at least one chapter․ There is a dialogue in which Pope Urban, before starting the Crusades, tries to resolve the contradiction with the biblical commandment "Thou shalt not kill" (You shall not murder), he edits it, replaces “You shall not murder” with “You shall not murder a Christian".
"This book is not me, it is not my opinion. I do not try to teach, exhort or impose anything on anyone. Furthermore, there are views in the book which I do not agree with at all, there are characters who make their decisions against my will. This is just an artistic point of view, in which I have tried to present the historical events.”
"One of the characters in this book is an Armenian, but it is not brought up in any way. In general, Armenia is not represented overtly in the text in any way. If you buy this book, for example, from one of the bookstores in Munich, if you do not read the author's name, you will not expect it to have anything to do with Armenia.”
"I did not like the Armenian literature written during the last 20 years of the Soviet Union and the period of independence. It has dried up and drained a lot. One of the reasons is that the all-Union funding for literature has significantly decreased. I was very nervous about what I was reading. And one day I decided that I needed to stop complaining and criticizing Armenian writers, even by not speaking it out, and the time has come for me to write as I imagine that an Armenian writer should write.”
"I have made a great non-material contribution to this book. I have dedicated more than a year to the creation of this book. This book has been written according to the scheme in which the best-selling books in the world are written: it excludes any kind of pathos, patriotic declarations, open scenes captivating with interesting tricks. It has been written chapter by chapter to conform to international standards."
"I cannot say what the life of this book will be like, as a piece of writing, how it will be evaluated. It is not me who should give the judgment. Maybe a year later no one will remember it! In any case, I have written this book not in Armenian, but "in human language”, so that any representative of any nation can read and understand it."
"The book has already been translated into English and, along with the translation, will participate in the London exhibition on March 13. My literary agent and I will try to present it in the international sphere.”
"The main purpose of creating the book was to present it abroad. I have not planned to present it in Armenia, in the Armenian market. It is just one of the two preconditions for presenting the book abroad: first your book must be published and sold in your country, and then it can be presented to international publishers and readers.”