Synopses & Reviews
It has been hailed as one of the most romantic epic novels of all time. Ali and Nino, two lovers from vastly different backgrounds, grow up together in carefree innocence in Baku on the Caspian Sea. Here, where Eastern and Occidental collide, they are inevitably drawn into the events of the First World War and the Russian Revolution. Torn apart by the turmoil, Ali joins the defense of Azerbajan from the onslaught of the Red Army, and Nino flees to the safety of Paris with their child, not knowing whether they will ever see each other again. A sweeping tale, as romantic and gripping as or , it portrays, against a gloriously exotic backdrop, the enduring love between childhood friends divided by their separate cultures.
Review
"One feels as if one had dug up buried treasure…one feels completely caught up in the novel's exotic setting…an epic of cultural change that seems more immediate than this morning's headlines." --
The New York Times "Poignant and beautiful…alive with a vividly unique vision of colliding culture and enduring love." --Newsweek
Synopsis
Hailed as one of the most romantic epic novels of all time, Kurban Said's Ali and Nino is "poignant and beautiful . . . alive with a vividly unique vision of colliding cultures and enduring love" (Newsweek). Ali and Nino, two lovers from vastly different backgrounds, grow up together in carefree innocence in Baku on the Caspian Sea. Here, where Eastern and Occidental collide, they are inevitably drawn into the events of the First World War and the Russian Revolution. Torn apart by the turmoil, Ali joins the defense of Azerbajan from the onslaught of the Red Army, and Nino flees to the safety of Paris with their child, not knowing whether they will ever see each other again.
A sweeping tale, as romantic and gripping as Gone with the Wind or Dr. Zhivago, it portrays, against a gloriously exotic backdrop, the enduring love between childhood friends divided by their separate cultures.
Synopsis
is the epic novel of enduring romance in a time of war.
About the Author
Kurban Said's life is surrounded in mystery. Lev Naussimbaum (alias Kurban Said) was, many believe, born in Baku in 1905, the son of a German governess and a Jewish businessman. In 1938 he reportedly fled from Germany, and to escape deportation, he stabbed himself in the foot, dying in 1942 from the self-inflicted wound.