One of the blurbs on the back cover describes this book as "tender," and I think that's the perfect adjective to capture this story. This novel is set in a small mountain village in Armenia that is mostly populated with elderly residents, as the younger generations have all died (mostly from war or famine) or moved away. The book follows several different families in the village (all related of course) and their myriad relationships and daily struggles. It's definitely a character-driven story over a plot-driven story, and it has a healthy dose of local folklore.