Ali and Nino
Summary:
First published in Vienna in 1937, this classic story of romance and adventure has been compared to “Dr. Zhivago” and “Romeo and Juliet”. Its mysterious author was recently the subject of a feature article in the New Yorker, which has inspired a forthcoming biography. Out of print for nearly three decades until the hardcover re-release last year, “Ali and Nino” is Kurban Said's masterpiece. It is a captivating novel as evocative of the exotic desert landscape as it is of the passion between two people pulled apart by culture, religion, and war.
It is the eve of World War I in Baku, Azerbaijan, a city on the edge of the Caspian Sea, poised precariously between east and west. Ali Khan Shirvanshir, a Muslim schoolboy from a proud, aristocratic family, has fallen in love with the beautiful and enigmatic Nino Kipiani, a Christian girl with distinctly European sensibilities. To be together they must overcome blood feud and scandal, attempt a daring horseback rescue, and travel from the bustling street of oil-boom Baku, through starkly beautiful deserts and remote mountain villages, to the opulent palace of Ali's uncle in neighboring Persia. Ultimately the lovers are drawn back to Baku, but when war threatens their future, Ali is forced to choose between his loyalty to the beliefs of his Asian ancestors and his profound devotion to Nino. Combining the exotic fascination of a tale told by Scheherazade with the range and magnificence of an epic, “Ali and Nino” is a timeless classic of love in the face of war. (Summary and cover courtesy of goodreads.com)
Review:
This book is poetic and lyrical and like listening to a great song. The thing that lingers when I think about it was the imagery, the history and the sense of getting swept into the story. But this also wasn’t a book that I continued to think about or remember vividly. I will admit that it had me researching a lot more about the historical context to understand the context more deeply.
Something that I struggled with is that there are certainly various portrayals that are not exactly flattering. I’m not talking about the back-and-forth East vs West debate (which was good), but the description of Islam and Armenians. No author is completely unbiased and while I think there were some very illustrative and valuable perspectives, there were some that are incomplete or slanted. Although I didn’t rank it too highly, I actually think it’s well-worth reading as a classic and for the historical context.
Warning: Contains some violence and sexual content.
Rating: 3 stars!
Who should read it? Anyone looking for a non-traditional love story or learning a little more about some of history.