Dshamilja
"The most beautiful love story in the world."
-Louis Aragon
The Second World War is raging, and Jamilia's husband is off fighting at the front. Accompanied by Daniyar, a sullen newcomer who was wounded on the battlefield, Jamilia spends her days hauling sacks of grain from the threshing floor to the train station in their village in the Caucasus.
-Louis Aragon
The Second World War is raging, and Jamilia's husband is off fighting at the front. Accompanied by Daniyar, a sullen newcomer who was wounded on the battlefield, Jamilia spends her days hauling sacks of grain from the threshing floor to the train station in their village in the Caucasus.
Spurning men's advances and w
...moreTaschenbuch, 95 pages
Published
July 1st 1990
by Unionsverlag
(first published 1958)
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As far as lovers go, I didn't think either Jamilia or Daniyar were much of a catch. What with Jamilia being a pretty typical male fantasy projection of 'sassy peasant hottie', and Daniyar having all the charisma of your average grain hauler. Same goes for Seit and his "paintings" which you can bet are dreadful. This was over-sentimental, simplistic and a little dull, but not awful awful, it's just something that would probably appeal to fans of Paulo Coehlo or Jack Vettriano (if you know what I'...more
This is a book I would probably never have been aware of, let alone picked up and read, had it not been chosen for the August book of the month at Waterstones. It really was a pleasant surprise.
It’s a joy to read and contains some beautiful description. It really is testament to how well written it is that it feels such a complete and fully realised story in so few pages. My colleagues and I agreed that it doesn’t need more than its humble 96 pages, and does a lot more with those pages than man...more
It’s a joy to read and contains some beautiful description. It really is testament to how well written it is that it feels such a complete and fully realised story in so few pages. My colleagues and I agreed that it doesn’t need more than its humble 96 pages, and does a lot more with those pages than man...more
Aug 15, 2012
Jonathan Widell
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
women-with-exotic-names
What a cheesy beginning! What a great climax! What a subtle anticlimax! The book starts like a Soviet version of the Little House on the Prairie. The names of two houses in the village are even called the Big House and the Little House, which are situated somewhere on the Kirghiz steppe - or, let's face it, the prairie. I thought the book could have been an idyllic feature article written for National Geography, with some odd references to Allah giving some exotic local colour to the story, unti...more
At just ninety-six broad-spaced pages, Chingiz Aitmatov's 'Jamilia' wisps by at the speed of a Kyrgyz breeze. But for all its brevity, Aitmatov's narrative is so soaked in the richness of both his beloved homeland and the lives of the characters he has crafted within it, that it lingers longer than most novels twice or three times its size.
Sometimes, plot synopses cannot do a book justice, however hard you try. Suffice to say 'Jamelia' is an almost impossibly delicate tale of a love affair set a...more
Sometimes, plot synopses cannot do a book justice, however hard you try. Suffice to say 'Jamelia' is an almost impossibly delicate tale of a love affair set a...more
What starts out as a fairly ho-hum story, set in the Kyrgyz steppe during the war years, takes flight suddenly, miraculously, halfway in and transforms itself into something entirely different and beautiful. If Aitmatov had never written anything else, this story would still stand as his lasting monument. They even issued a postage stamp in Kyrgyzstan to commemmorate Jamilia, and no wonder!
*
"In the evening, as we rode through the ravine, I felt I was being transported to a different world. I li...more
*
"In the evening, as we rode through the ravine, I felt I was being transported to a different world. I li...more
Apr 30, 2011
Amalie
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
russian-literature,
bildungsroman
This is a beautiful novella of love, life and love for one's land. It describes the rich Kyrgyz culture during a specific time frame in recent history. It is said that Jamila made Chingiz Aitmatov well-known outside the Soviet Union. However after reading this I began to wonder why Aitmatov is not more widely read or known as he deserves to be.
*************SPOILERS*******************
Jamila is a coming of age story. It recounts the forbidden love between the narrator's sister-in-law Jamilya and...more
*************SPOILERS*******************
Jamila is a coming of age story. It recounts the forbidden love between the narrator's sister-in-law Jamilya and...more
At just 96 pages, or around 18,600 words, Jamilia isn’t even safely in novella territory; many would consider it a “novelette.” I was impressed to see the author fit what felt like a complete story into such a short work.
During World War II, most Kyrgyz men are off at the front. Meanwhile, fifteen-year-old Seit hauls grain to the nearest train station to aid in the war effort, accompanied by his sister-in-law, Jamilia, and a wounded soldier, Daniyar. Jamilia and Daniyar fall in love, and Seit is...more
During World War II, most Kyrgyz men are off at the front. Meanwhile, fifteen-year-old Seit hauls grain to the nearest train station to aid in the war effort, accompanied by his sister-in-law, Jamilia, and a wounded soldier, Daniyar. Jamilia and Daniyar fall in love, and Seit is...more
The quote on the front of the book describes this as 'the most beautiful love story in the world'. I think that's a bit generous (it's no Wuthering Heights!) It is beautifully written, and it evokes the rural setting very well, but I felt that its novella form let it down a little, particularly in terms of the character interaction. Had it been built on and elaborated, I think it would've been far more moving, but I felt that the reader doesn't get the chance to really feel for the characters in...more
I guess I am left with not much to say, Aragon has raised it above the Kipling's World's Most Beautiful Love Story. The story is narrated by Seit now a painter who looks back on childhood memories particularly the stirring and inspirational love story which have inspired him to be a painter. Seit's sister in law, Jamilia, is working in kolkhoz and destiny brings her and Daniyar together, they fall in love and elope. The romance inflames the desire of Seit to become a painter, he wants to capture...more
Nov 10, 2012
Amandine
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
20e-et-21e-siècles,
favorites
Merci, mon Dieu à qui je ne crois pas, pour cette nuit d’août à laquelle je crois de toute ma foi dans l’amour. [Aragon]
Cette nuit d’août qui a ébloui Aragon est celle écrite par Tchinghiz Aïtmatov dans ce magnifique roman Djamilia. Celui-ci est, selon son illustre traducteur, « la plus belle histoire d’amour du monde » : il explique son ressenti dans sa préface, sans doute un peu trop d’après moi. Sans être tout à fait d’accord avec lui, je considère moi aussi ce récit comme sublime et comme é...more
Cette nuit d’août qui a ébloui Aragon est celle écrite par Tchinghiz Aïtmatov dans ce magnifique roman Djamilia. Celui-ci est, selon son illustre traducteur, « la plus belle histoire d’amour du monde » : il explique son ressenti dans sa préface, sans doute un peu trop d’après moi. Sans être tout à fait d’accord avec lui, je considère moi aussi ce récit comme sublime et comme é...more
Kyrgyzstan.
Jamilia is more a novella than a novel. It appears to be a love story set against a backdrop of war, with multiple and conflicting loyalties and alliances, but is also an allegory about fighting for and longing for one's homeland. An enjoyable if brief novel that depicts a pastoral Kyrgyz village of more than half a century ago.
Jamilia is more a novella than a novel. It appears to be a love story set against a backdrop of war, with multiple and conflicting loyalties and alliances, but is also an allegory about fighting for and longing for one's homeland. An enjoyable if brief novel that depicts a pastoral Kyrgyz village of more than half a century ago.
This is supposedly Chingiz Aitmatov's best novel, but it is really more of a novella at only 96 pages. The story is a sweet romance in the context of World War Two-era Soviet-Kyrgyz culture. The book is not completely clear about where it takes place, but from the various clues it is clear it is set in a small village around Talas oblast of what was then the Kyrgyz S.S.R. Because I spent eight months just over the mountain from that region, in Taraz, Kazakhstan (albeit 70 years after the events...more
در کانون ماجرا «جمیله»، دختر جوان قرقیز با شوهر نه چندان موردعلاقهاش، «صادق»، که در ارتش شوروی خدمت میکند، قرار دارد. راوی مستقیم داستان، «سعید»، برادر ناتنی و پانزده ساله «صادق» است، که به ستایش زن برادر میپردازد، و از او حمایت میکند. «جمیله» با دیگر زنان روستا تفاوت دارد. او خودرای و خودآگاه و گاه گستاخ است، و به هیچ وجه حاضر نیست خود را فقط یک مخلوق آماده به خدمت بداند، لذا کارهای سخت را به شوهرش وامیگذارد. «جمیله» همیشه میداند چطور پسرکهای سمج را از خود دور کند، تا اینکه «دانیار»...more
Feb 08, 2008
Smarti
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
hoerbuecher,
romaneab1900
schön - vor allem auch, weil es hier mal um Kirgisien geht und man davon ja nicht oft was zu hören bekommt. Die schönste Liebesgeschichte der Welt? eher nicht, aber die ganze bezeichnung ist ja auch völlig dämlich!
jamilia is a fantacy for me,i read this novel in 1988,when i was a college student in multan pakistan,i dont know how this book reached in my college library as in those days there was great hatred in pakistan for soviet union,but when i read this book,i reached in other wold,we were told that people of soviet union are like robots means iron hearted people,but jamilia changed my thinking,the tenderness,love & human touch i found in this book compelled me to review my knowldge abt people of...more
It is hailed as one of the most beautiful love stories in the world and I have a hard time really following this declaration. It is a beautiful love story - no doubt. The difficulties of closing the distance and overcoming the obstacles are beautifully described, but I can't really connect to Dshamilija nor the love of the boy for his sister-in-law.
What I like is the presented concept of love in general and I love the way Aitmatov paints the picture of the landscape. At some points it is a bit t...more
What I like is the presented concept of love in general and I love the way Aitmatov paints the picture of the landscape. At some points it is a bit t...more
Pinuccia'nın Kitapları
Beğeneceğimden emin olarak başladım bu kısa romana ve Aytmatov tabii ki de şaşırtmadı beni yine. Yukarıda da belirttiğim gibi beş oturuşta bitirebildim bu kısacık romanı ama Cemile'nin yanından uzaklaşmadım hiçbir seferinde. Dönemin koşullarını, Cemile'nin hayatının zorluğunu ve yalınlığını, Danyal'a olan hislerinin gelişimini ne kadar da güzel betimlemişti yazar. Bu sefer de romanın öyle bir ortasında, Cemile'nin yanı başında buldum ki kendimi aralarda, kocası ona hiç mekt...more
Beğeneceğimden emin olarak başladım bu kısa romana ve Aytmatov tabii ki de şaşırtmadı beni yine. Yukarıda da belirttiğim gibi beş oturuşta bitirebildim bu kısacık romanı ama Cemile'nin yanından uzaklaşmadım hiçbir seferinde. Dönemin koşullarını, Cemile'nin hayatının zorluğunu ve yalınlığını, Danyal'a olan hislerinin gelişimini ne kadar da güzel betimlemişti yazar. Bu sefer de romanın öyle bir ortasında, Cemile'nin yanı başında buldum ki kendimi aralarda, kocası ona hiç mekt...more
What a random little book this was. A first person narrative telling the story of a love affair that the narrator was not a part of was off putting and led to massive questions of unreliability that could not be resolved. Add to that the fact that the title should have been 'Daniyar' not 'Jamilia' as he was the one that caused the narrator's epiphany is what makes it wholly unrecommendable. The front cover and the blurb led to hope for a three dimensional female protagonist who jad something to...more
This novella, weighing in at a mere 96 pages, was engaging enough to keep me occupied during a particularly protracted visit to the A&E. It is set on the central asian steppes during the second world war. Jamilia is an impish young woman who runs away from her life on a soviet collective with a husband who ignores her and sets off for a new life with Daniyar, a taciturn war veteran with a deep soul and a voice to match.
It's always an adventure to read a book from a radically different cultur...more
It's always an adventure to read a book from a radically different cultur...more
I've been seeing two books all over the place in the UK, 50 Shades of Grey Triology and Jamilia. Of course I had to pick it up and read it. It was a few pages long, less than a hundred, and it didn't take me much time to read at all.
How was it? Well, if you read the description on the back cover, you've essentially read the entire book. I'm still scratching my head, what the fuss is all about really? So its a translated Russian short story by Kyrgyzstan's greatest author, that doesn't make it a...more
How was it? Well, if you read the description on the back cover, you've essentially read the entire book. I'm still scratching my head, what the fuss is all about really? So its a translated Russian short story by Kyrgyzstan's greatest author, that doesn't make it a...more
This is supposed to be one of the greatest love stories ever written. Hmm. Perhaps because it is so short there is no time for any real development of characters, place or situations. It feels as if it is merely a synopsis for a longer, more complex novel. Some of the imagery used is beautiful and yet the narrator so often resorts to 'it was indescribable' which frustrates. The narrator I also found to be irritating. Perhaps I have missed something; part of me hopes that I have missed something...more
I enjoyed this story because despite being short, using simple language and having a seeming innocence about it, it actually tells quite a lot about the time and the place in which it was set. If you want to read a novella with beautiful descriptions, with an unusual choice of narrator, with simple but evocative language and which uses, as a sort of conduit, a very simple love story to portray a traditional culture encountering the significant political and social upheavals of its time, then you...more
Sometimes when reading a translated book I get the feeling that there is a scrim between me and the story, or between me and the characters. That’s how I felt here. How is one to know, though, if the perceived fault is in the translation or in the original book. This is a short, passionate story of a strong-willed young wife, thrown together with her young brother-in-law while her husband is away at war. I should have been hooked. But I felt as though I were watching a shadow-play. Hovering bet...more
Jamilia is truly a beautiful book. There cannot be any doubt about that. Aitmatov's description is like nothing I've read before, he makes me feel like I could understand what an artist sees when they see a canvas. His narrative gifts stretch that far, which sounds as if I'm overselling him but trust me I'm not.
The setting of this novel, which was of course well crafted, is intriguing to anyone who hasn't come across a book so focused on agricultural village life. I am one such person and found...more
The setting of this novel, which was of course well crafted, is intriguing to anyone who hasn't come across a book so focused on agricultural village life. I am one such person and found...more
Atmospheric.
This was a short book, at just 96 pages. An excellent translation from Kyrgyz, full of feeling and wonderful descriptions of the countryside of Kyrgyzstan.
Set during WWII, the men of the villages are all off fighting at the front while the day to day running of the farms is left to women, youngsters and the injured. Grain must be transported over many miles to collection points from whence it is delivered to the fighting soldiers. Seit, the narrator, his sister-in-law, Jamila and Dan...more
This was a short book, at just 96 pages. An excellent translation from Kyrgyz, full of feeling and wonderful descriptions of the countryside of Kyrgyzstan.
Set during WWII, the men of the villages are all off fighting at the front while the day to day running of the farms is left to women, youngsters and the injured. Grain must be transported over many miles to collection points from whence it is delivered to the fighting soldiers. Seit, the narrator, his sister-in-law, Jamila and Dan...more
I am genuinely confused as to what some of these reviewers have seen in this book that I evidently missed. I found the writing to be somewhat clunky and disjointed, the characters to be unbelievable or barely formed and the whole thing very difficult to either get into or finish despite it's brevity. The story reminded me in many ways of The Go Between, and it may lead me to read that again which is a bonus. The concept of the love story is rather sweet but is far from being the most beautiful l...more
This is the kind of book that is so good in translation you wonder how much better it would be if read in the original language. It will satisfy those who are looking for something different to read since it describes a place and time that few writers have attempted or been able to capture with the grace of Chingiz Aitmatov. Both the GoodReads and Amazon description incorrectly state that the novel takes place in the Caucuses. It takes place on the vast steppe of Central Asia.
This very short novel - more of a novella - is blurbed as “the most beautiful love story in the world” and, well, if it isn’t, it comes very close. It’s set in Aïtmatov’s native Kyrgyzstan sometime during the Second world War. The men have all gone off to fight, leaving the women, old men and boys to run the village and bring in the harvest. When Daniyar returns from the fighting, but his family are no longer alive, he is tasked with assisting the narrator’s family – especially transporting the...more
BEFORE READING:Doesn't take place in the Caucasus but instead in Kyrgyzstan. Perhaps more of a love story to ones homeland rather than between people? I wish I could read a bit of the text somewhere...
There is a link to the entire book in the first comment below! I forgot and bought the book. What does that say about my head?!
AFTER READING: 4 stars. Prose that envelopes you in the place (Kyrgyzstan) and the emotions of the village people. It is about love, love between people, love for your home...more
There is a link to the entire book in the first comment below! I forgot and bought the book. What does that say about my head?!
AFTER READING: 4 stars. Prose that envelopes you in the place (Kyrgyzstan) and the emotions of the village people. It is about love, love between people, love for your home...more
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Chinghiz Aitmatov (Чингиз Айтматов, Tschingis Aitmatow, Čingiz Ajtmatov, Tšõngõz Ajtmatov,Cengiz Aytmatov) was an author who wrote in both Russian and Kyrgyz. He was the best known figure in Kyrgyzstan literature.
Aitmatov's parents were civil servants in Sheker. The name Chingiz is the same as the honorary title of Genghis Khan. In early childhood he wandered as a nomad with his family, as the Kyr...more
More about Chingiz Aitmatov...
Aitmatov's parents were civil servants in Sheker. The name Chingiz is the same as the honorary title of Genghis Khan. In early childhood he wandered as a nomad with his family, as the Kyr...more
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