book data
218 ratings, 3.66 average rating, 59 reviews
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published
2000
binding
Hardcover, 251 pages
isbn
8842808768
(isbn13: 9788842808763)
description
Il ventesimo secolo è agli albori e la città azera di Baku, sul mar Caspio, è la più asiatica delle città europee, la porta tra Oriente e Occiden...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 312)
Read in December, 2007
I devoured this in one day, on a plane flight back from Maui.
This is a book about a certain place and moment in time, but the love story is timeless. The story is set in the Caucacus, on the Caspian Sea in what is now Azerbaijan, on the eve of World War I. Ali Khan, a muslim boy, loves Nino, a Georgian Christian girl. Somehow, their love survives their cultural differences, family hostilities, blood feuds, and never-ending war. By the end of the book, I knew more than I ever imagined about th...more
This is a book about a certain place and moment in time, but the love story is timeless. The story is set in the Caucacus, on the Caspian Sea in what is now Azerbaijan, on the eve of World War I. Ali Khan, a muslim boy, loves Nino, a Georgian Christian girl. Somehow, their love survives their cultural differences, family hostilities, blood feuds, and never-ending war. By the end of the book, I knew more than I ever imagined about th...more
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Read in July, 2008
I'd like to find out more about the life of Kurban Said actually, after reading this ..or rather, Lev and the Baroness.
I've been reading a few other things these past few days too, but I felt like finishing this one from beginning to end - I like when that happens. I felt the book necessarily lacked the usual quantity of depth I may have initially expected given the subject matter, in order to touch upon so many things. Showed a nice variety of characters though, in dealing with religion a...more
I've been reading a few other things these past few days too, but I felt like finishing this one from beginning to end - I like when that happens. I felt the book necessarily lacked the usual quantity of depth I may have initially expected given the subject matter, in order to touch upon so many things. Showed a nice variety of characters though, in dealing with religion a...more
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It's a love story, and it's beautiful and hilarious and tragic all that the right times. It's set out as a clash between East/Muslim and West/Christian. I think the opening scenes say it better than I can.
It starts with our hero being the spokesman for a whole classroom of little Azerbaijani boys, telling their Russian teacher that they don't want to be part of Europe, however advanced it may be. Then our little hero goes across the street to the girls' school to brag to his cousin and her ...more
It starts with our hero being the spokesman for a whole classroom of little Azerbaijani boys, telling their Russian teacher that they don't want to be part of Europe, however advanced it may be. Then our little hero goes across the street to the girls' school to brag to his cousin and her ...more
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Read in March, 2003
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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It is a matter of personal taste but I LOVE this kind of stuff. The ending was abrupt and there wasn't much character development but I believe it was intentional - it leaves space to focus on the very well done insight into what it means to live between the East and the West (timeless theme) at that particular point. You'll learn much more from this story, written in the 1930s, than from some Thomas Friedman explanation of "globalization". Incredibly beautiful and exotic setting and s...more
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Read in May, 2008
I read this upon the recommmendation of a friend of mine. I loved it, and learned so much, although the reading of it was a bit difficult because I am so unfamiliar with that area of the world (Azerbajan) and that time in history (around World War I). The love story described in the book, between a Mohammedan boy and Russian Christian girl was truly beautiful--I think because of the way in which they both made extremely difficult compromises for each other, and yet were able to maintain the...more
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Read in June, 2006
i think it's not fair in fact to say that i didn't like it, cos i'm not yet finish it. but why i didn't finish it? cos don't like it. it's too long story, i feel like watching movie that got award in cannes festival for official selection. but it's ok, cos i bought it in sale part n i bought cos i thought "hum...it's not too thick n not too thin just good size for reading at bus!"...hum..or maybe just my brain that's not work so well???!!!!who knows??!!
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Read in September, 2006
Tells the story of love between two young people living in Baku at the turn of the century - one is a Muslim Azeri boy, the other a Christian Georgian girl. Their love is complicated by an Armenian character. The book is very well-written and evokes an exotic time and place while describing with some success the complicated relationships and history among the three Caucasus nations.
See entry for The Orientalist.
See entry for The Orientalist.
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Read in November, 2008
recommends it for:
Marcus, Brandon
Beautiful love story (normally I hate these love stories)! A poignant writing style that is simple but places you across the Caucuses and Persia. Shows the anti-woman sentiment while aslo showing the nobily chivalry towards them (well, maybe not in Persia though)
Wonderful story for anyone who loves Central Asia and the Caucuses. And who is a bit mushy even if they don't like admitting it.
Wonderful story for anyone who loves Central Asia and the Caucuses. And who is a bit mushy even if they don't like admitting it.
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Set against the backdrop of the beginning of World War I, this is a story of two young people. Although they come from completely different backgrounds and cultures, they fall in love. Unfortunately, family differences and the unsettled political climate interfere with their happiness. Something like Romeo and Juliet, but more enmeshed in politics than familial issues.
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Read in January, 1996
YES! A completely unique love story. Ali is Muslim - Nino is Christian. The characters and story would be compelling in any setting - but add in the fact that is set in oil-rich Baku in the early 20th century.....and the author blends the ingredients....just so. I've always been fascinated by the Caucausus - but I'd recommend this book to anyone..with a pulse.
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Read in April, 2007
recommends it for:
anyone interested in the Caucasus
I so wanted to like this book, but it was just a little too melodramatic for me, a little too hand-to-forehead woe-is-me. Reminded me of the fantasies of a middle school dork from a century ago. And after reading The Orientalist, I feel even more that the story rings kind of false given the fantasies the author wove into his self-identity. Oh well. Sorry Ali.
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Read in October, 2006
recommends it for:
those who like Romantic fiction
This is a Romantic tale in its classic sense -- dashing, exotic young man meets beautiful girl in central Asia; they marry, in spite of opposition from both sets of parents; they flee the Russian Revolution to Iran; they return to try to drive out the Bolsheviks; the hero dies in a hail of gunfire as the Red Army invades the city, his machine-gun nest overrun.
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Read in June, 2008
recommended to Katy by:
Bought by Andrea Steer but really come from The Orientalist (anorecommends it for: Katie Marston
What a fantastic book. I am not a love story reader but I couldn't put this book down. The insite into different cultures and the lengths that human beings will go to for their loved ones. Truly a fantastic read and I would recommend it to anyone although, make sure that you have the time because you too won't want to put it down. =)
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Read in June, 2007
This book was recommended by a guy who writes from Central Asia for the Economist, and I was not disappointed. It's an action-packed love story about the permanent clash of cultures between Europe and Asia, written in simple and beautiful language. Soon I will move to Tblisi and meet the most beautiful women in the world.
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Read in October, 2008
I've finally (belatedly) finished Jason's pick for book club.
Ali and Nino is poetic, un-apologetically exotic, and (subsidiary only to those other two qualities) thought provoking in its refusal to conform to modern tropes on the relationship between East and West.
Extremely good, and worth anyone's time.
Ali and Nino is poetic, un-apologetically exotic, and (subsidiary only to those other two qualities) thought provoking in its refusal to conform to modern tropes on the relationship between East and West.
Extremely good, and worth anyone's time.
I guess I liked the story of this book as much as the plot; I also enjoyed a rare glimpse into the two cultures as they were in that part of the world at that time-- for this reason I think Ali and Nino has a good deal of merit, even if the plot is a little damp.
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Read in September, 2004
recommends it for:
People who like exotic love stories including cultural clashes
Excellent book... dealing with cultural clashes in a not-as-well-publicized part of the world (Muslim and Christian, but in the Caucasus/Iran). One of the few books I read for grad school that I can recommend to the general non-USSR-obsessed public.
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Read in April, 2007
I really liked this story with its solid historical background and with a story that the reader will be unable to put down. It is beautifully written and deals with fascinating characters from a world that few have written about, at least in the West.
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A romance hid under orientalism-in-action drivel. Progressive west vs. Savage Asia. "Oh, the milky white European bosom. Oh! Oh!" "We Muslims kill at the will of Allah." Oh, sucka. At times, could produce racially driven Ali and Nino porn.
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