Begone, “Medusa.” You Have No Power Over Me …

In “The Smile of Medusa and Other Tales,” Vardges Davtyan shares a witty, ironic take on life in America from the point of view of an immigrant Armenian psychiatrist struggling to make a living—and a life—in Los Angeles.

Each tale is a vignette of highlights—and lowlights—in Vardges’s life that will resonate with the reader as they recognize similarities to their own. Regardless of your culture or background, you will identify with his struggles to assimilate in a country where his medical training allows him to work at low-paying jobs only … to drive a cab, work as a field hand, or as a security guard … not practice medicine—and how he makes the most of that opportunity to interact and connect with others. The interconnectedness of life and lives—regardless of culture or ethnicity—is at the core of each short story.

Vardges’s related anecdotes recall specific elements of his life—with humor and grace—first as a child in Soviet-era Armenia, then as a medical student determined to make a difference in the lives of his patients, and then as an immigrant to the United States, where he finds himself in one absurd situation after another.

Whether he is being “born again” when he finally shaves his beard after thirteen years and realizing there was no need to hide fearfully from the world in “Overcoming Grief the American Way,” or discarding the idea of marrying an American to get a Green Card thanks to a procession of unsuitable women in “Same-Faced Brides,” or recounting survival mechanisms used in a series of menial jobs in southern California in “I Love Lucy,” Vardges taps into the universal human condition in which we all desire belonging, connection, and understanding.

Through these bite-sized memoirs, rich with detail and dry humor, he recalls a fairytale-like childhood, surrounding us with his family folklore. Then, his unique perspective on the people he encounters in California as he navigates the absurdities of life is equally as real, sensitive, and insightful. All are laugh-out-loud—as well as subtly—hilarious.

This book is both satirical and poetic. Each story ends on a positive note as Vardges remains upbeat even as his patience and sanity are pushed to the limits. If you’ve ever found yourself pulled in many directions by life’s challenges (and who hasn’t), you will learn the way—Vardges-style—to remain steadfast and keep moving forward while avoiding your own personal “Medusas.”

“Memory is the song of the heart—the song that is never heard because you sing it silently, in your mind, for yourself. However, Vardges Davtyan’s short stories are not only memoirs….They have a novel’s feel and liveliness and are episodes that exude wisdom.” —Gevork Christinyan, Armenian writer and critic