This novel was published in German in 1937, but it was not until 1970 that a chance find resulted in it being republished in English. It represents a rare view into a time long passed, narrated by a youngster who meets the love of his life in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. Ali Khan Shirvanshir is ...
Abridged version of my review posted on Edith’s Miscellany on 31 January 2014The 1937 novel Ali and Nino by Kurban Said (the true identity of the writer is disputed) is the first-person narrative of the Muslim Ali Khan Shirvanshir spanning the turbulent years between 1914 and 1920. The crucial perio...
The Orientalist, Lev Nussimbaum writing as Kurban Said.To find
This book was an unusual reading experience in a way I can’t quite put my finger on. It’s an engaging story, and accessible; the narrator, Ali, is candid about his thoughts and feelings. At the same time, I never lost sight of the fact that it comes from across a wide gap in time and culture.Ali and...
Azerbaijan.There's a lot of nice language in this 1937 novel by Kurban Said. This is a pseudonym for Lev Nussimbaum--or is it? Though the novel stands nicely on its own, half the fun is the mystery of its authorship.The novel itself is about Ali Khan, an Azeri Muslim, and his love, Nino Kipiani, a C...
I hesitate to write any review b/c I feel I cannot do this book justice. I simply adored it. Probably the best book I will read this year!!! Of course it is a love story, but so much more too. It is a love story between a Georgian Christian girl and a Mulim boy from an historically famous family fro...
Three and one half starsAli Khan Shirvanshir tells the story of how he and Nino grew up together in Baku on the Caspian Sea. He's a Mohammedan, she's a Christian, but they only want each other. Ali Khan likes to portray himself as a fierce warrior ready for battle, but really he just wants to love ...
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