I thought the Armenian history was wonderful.; the characters were memorable. What did not work for me was the discovery of these stories by the protagonist. It was way to conventional and took away from the immediacy of the hisorical story.

Fascinating as well as eye-opening. I found myself as I turned the pages of this book looking for maps and pouring over countries as I explored where in the world this story took place. I knew very little about Armenia and Armenian culture before launching into the story - it was an enticing and delicious adventure with a plethora of emotions spread throughout the journey.

Katerina has recently lost her grandmother, Mariam, who was originally from Armenia. To Katerina and her mother's surprise there are secrets they have never been told about Mariam's life before she came to reside in England. They discover a wooden spice box as well as a journal written in Armenian. Inside the spice box are also letters Mariam has written to someone, they just don't know who. Travelling to Cyprus on a much needed break, Katerina meets by accident a young Armenian man, Ara, who begins to translate her grandmother's journals. It quickly becomes clear that Mariam's early life was thrown in turmoil when conflict came to Armenia in 1915 and her family was torn apart. Katerina finds herself discovering so much about her grandmother that she never knew had shaped the woman's life as well as opening a door to her Armenian heritage.

This story is told from several points of view moving between past and present but never becomes confusing. The voices are distinct and highly entertaining; at times moving. 'The Spice Box Letters' allow a glimpse in a completely new world filled with food, family and stories. I was very sad to reach the end of the book because it meant I had to leave these characters and I certainly wanted to spend a little more time with them.

The Spice Box Letters is a classic example of a book with beautiful prose, lush sensory detail, and well-researched history that never comes together as a dramatic, emotionally engaging story. All the material is there, as Katerina (in 1985) explores her family’s personal tragedy during the Armenian genocide of 1915. So much of the story is told second or third hand, but that in itself does not account for the emotional distance. Perhaps another reader would fall in love with the characters and thereby be drawn into the story, but I never found anything in them that touched me. There were poignant moments, like when Katya and her mother realize that they would never taste the grandmother’s cooking because she never wrote down the recipes, and how much food that epitomizes culture, family, and “home” means to them. But such scenes must be linked together in an overall dramatic arc to create a satisfying, engaging novel. As beautifully written as it is, The Spice Box Letters left me feeling as if the author had tried to turn a horrific historical tragedy into a novel without understanding how fiction works. She might have done better to write a straight historical treatment of the Armenian genocide.

A great read. I loved the fact that I kept wanting to go off on an online exploration of places, events and people from this book and it does a difficult thing extremely well: blending fact and fiction in a fascinating and easy to digest way. Fans of Elizabeth Kostova would definitely love this mixture of family secrets, historical events and intrigue and I lost myself for around three hours one afternoon as I just became so entirely gripped by Katerina's story. It really made me yearn to find out more about Armenia - but it also made me want to go and walk in her footsteps. I loved the character of Mariam and feel like the dual perspective really worked to let us see the way that just as some hings have undoubtedly changed - that there are many things that have not.
The Spice Box Letters was scheduled to be published in 2015 to mark the centenary year of the Armenian genocide. I am ashamed to admit that I didn't really know that much about the Armenian struggles at that time, I'd definitely say that the book was difficult reading in places, but I feel that Eve Makis did this in order to really make us think about the pain and anguish the Armenian people went through. I really feel that this makes the emotional connection that I definitely felt with these characters all the more moving. The characters in this book are fictional, but the story itself contains many examples that are found in fact and the story has so much more of an impact because of that. A compelling tale that truly succeeds in enlightening you as well as captivating you. A superb read.

I tried reading this several times and just couldn't finish it. Maybe another time???

Look forward to reading more from this author. Great read and easy to follow story line.