Waterline: A Novel

""A gripping journey through time, Mrjoian brings readers deep into the heart of the Armenian Genocide and its ripples across generations. . . . Waterline is a must-read—intense, moving, and unforgettable.”—Morgan Talty, national bestselling author of Night of the Living Rez and Fire Exit

""A moving portrait of grief and the shadows of silence.”—Vanessa Chan, bestselling author of The Storm We Made

In this deeply moving debut, a close-knit Armenian American family grapples with the aftermath of losing one of their own.

Outside Detroit on the island of Gross Ile, the Kurkjians receive news that Mari, the eldest of their youngest generation, has swum into the depths of Lake Michigan with no intent of returning to shore—the consequences of which drag out a deeply rooted pain passed down from generations before.

More than a century earlier, Gregor, the great-grandfather and patriarch of the Kurkjian family, survived the Armenian Genocide after fighting for his freedom atop Musa Dagh. Decades later and miles away, Gregor’s epic mythos is inherited by his family as they navigate living in its shadow. As the Kurkjians now struggle with their new, devastating loss, secrets and shortcomings rise to the surface, forcing each relative to decide where their own story fits in the narrative of their family’s fraught history.

For fans of Tommy Orange’s There, There, Thao Thai’s Banyan Moon, and Jeffrey Eugenides’ epic Middlesex, Waterline explores the complex beauty of diaspora, the weight of inherited trauma, and the echoes of the Genocide on contemporary Armenian life. This is a searing portrait of a family afloat in grief and the perseverance needed to rise above.

© 2025 HarperVia (Audiobook): 9780063393547

Release date

Audiobook: June 3, 2025