Author: Chingiz Aitmatov
Pages: 96 pages
Book takes place in the country: YES
Author is from the country: YES
I have visited: NO
This is my 69th read of the year.
One of my favorite things about this challenge (outside of the books of course) is finding all the country flags and locating all the countries on the map. I have learned a lot more about our world just by reading.
This short novella is a love story. It takes place during the Second World War. The story is told by Seit - the only son in his family that is not sent off to the war. Jamilia is his sister in law, and her husband is off fighting in the war. Seit is very protective of her (and later admits he was in love with her). She is taken in by her in-law family while her husband is away, and she shows herself to be a hard worker.
One day, a crippled soldier named Daniyar arrives, and Jamilia is taken with him. They work together, travel together, and Daniyar reveals that he has a singing voice that is magical. Daniyar's songs open their eyes to the beauty around them. Jamilia and Daniyar fall in love, and when it is discovered that Jamilia's husband is alive, but not really interested in seeing her again, she feels that she and Daniyar can be together. The reaction of her family and towns people, though, leaves her viewed as a traitor.
This was a really good little book. So very, very short, but at lot said and well said in those few pages. It is very well written. Inside the book's cover is a quote that says "the most beautiful love story in the world". It isn't just a love story between two people. It is a love for tradition, and their homeland, for music, and life itself.
It is a gem. You should definitely check it out.
Stars: 4 1/2
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