I Wasn't Crying Over You: and other short stories

Armenian born author Vincent Hunanyan grew up in St. Petersburg, Russia, moved to Sweden and eventually to Los Angeles, attending Santa Monica City College and graduating with a BA in English/creative writing from UCLA. He now lives and writes in Stockholm.Having experienced the joy of reading Vincent’s BLACK BOOK OF POEMS, the decision to further explore this young and important author was natural. This is a coming of age novel, but as the author states, ‘The narratives you are about to read were drawn from my own experience and are told almost exactly in the way they happened. Out of respect to the people I once knew, some names and places have been altered. Some stories are products of my imagination and nothing else.’The flavor of the eleven stories in this book is well defined in the opening of the title story I WASN’T CRYING OVER YOU – ‘I was seven, which meant that my father had been gone for seven years. Everything is easy at seven, the summers long and brave, and everything, infinite and unperturbed. My eyes were still too young to be malevolent and my tongue too pure to cause pain. “Come on, I really have to go.” I kept jumping up and down. “I think I’ve lost the key.” “Very funny.” He had lost the key. “He” is my older brother Charlie, and Charlie had just made us homeless. Mom was gone to bury our grandfather in the old country, and there was no spare key. Charlie jerked the steel door as hard as he could, hoping for it to feel our despair and let us into safety, but the door proved relentless, and though I felt a stabbing pain in my stomach, I did not cry. I was afraid of the dark, however, and though my brother pretended like he was not, I knew we shared the same anxiety. Outside, it was getting dark and my heart raced, and I looked at Charlie and asked what we should do. After a few minutes of deep thought, Charlie concluded the best course of action was to retrace our steps. We went back to the playground where my brother had bounced around like a bunny on batteries, but it was dark, too dark to see, and there were a million scenarios in which the key was lost. “The cops!” I yelled to my brother.’In this tonality Vincent recreates memories of war, alcoholism, brotherhood, love, loss and loneliness that he offers with minimum sentimentality and painful honesty. These stories are sensitive, probing and holding thoughts that speak to each of us in our own needs. Heads p for an important young voice who delivers richly satisfying writing. Grady Harp, October 17

I read the book in one evening and I enjoyed it.I wasn't crying over you! This story is a perfect piece of art full of universal love and kindness.The child feels lonely, helpless and abandoned and he is crying. Its too much for a sensitive 7 year old.But he is also so wise. He doesn't want his brother feel guilty for his tears. And, when the crisis is gone he whispers to his brother: "I wasn't crying over you". This is a subtle psychological moment expressed by a short phrase.

Great book! The sometimes heartbreaking but yet full of hope stories really touches your soul. Pure joyfull reading! I also liked ”Black book of poems” very much, the poems there had the same air of honesty and frakness to them as the short stories in this book. I really like this authur and cant’t wait for the next book.

Not my favorite but an interesting read!

I don't remember the last time I cried over a book. I had extremely high expectations after reading Vincent's first book but this one didn't just meet the expectations but it's one of the very few books I'll be reading again. Must read!

One of the best books I've read in a long time. Comprised of short, but touching stories, this truly remarkable book will transform you through a series of challenging scenarios and thought-provoking situations. A fantastic read that pulled on my heartstrings from start to finish. Once I started reading it, I wasn’t able to put it down and finished the entire book in just one day. If you only read one book this year, read "I Wasn’t Crying Over You."

A well crafted, well written, and enjoyable read. Highly engaging. Looking forward to reading this author's next book!

I really enjoyed reading this. Vincent Hunanyan is a very gifted writer