Hermine Stepanyan

Zulali

The story follows the lives in a small village of a picturesque Armenian gorge where secrets, tragedies and love are intricately weaved to form a beautiful impressionist painting of life. And as often in life, the drama is tainted with humor and compassion. This life in rural parts is hard and the villagers survive by trading at the market, cultivating the land when possible and relying on each other. Zulali, a young mentally ill woman, Nazaros, 10 year old boy, too smart for his age, and Aqir, an elderly woman who was cast away from her own family for being barren, form an unlikely family. As each one of them narrates their perception in turn, the deeply hidden secrets and terrible tragedies that tie them together are gradually revealed to unveil the complex mosaic of their fate.