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Book blurb: "First published in Vienna in 1937, this classic story of romance and adventure has been compared to Dr. Zhivago and Romeo and Juliet... 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."

Although Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ pronounces one particular man (with his own incredible story) as the author, the true identity of Kurban Said is a mystery and has been under debate for decades, with no less than 4 different names put forth by scholars. The best data I could find for this was from Wikipedia () because the individual articles written each espoused a single source without giving credence to the arguments for the others.

Who plans to join? This should be a very interesting read!

I've already finished it and that's my main comment now-----interesting,w/ very visual depictions of the area and life there.

Glad to hear it was interesting, K. I'll be joining in this one too.

I will also

I'm a maybe. I can't seem to keep up with all the books I want to read.

Celia wrote: "I'm a maybe. I can't seem to keep up with all the books I want to read."
Haha - I get that! I sent you message last night.

I have finished and I don't think I've ever been this torn on how to rate a book. I'm going to put the rest in a spoiler because if I don't, I'll never remember by the end of the month!

This was not so much a love story as it was about the life of Ali Khan that happened to include the love he felt for Nino. He was certainly a man of contradictions. In the beginning I believed him to be quite progressive for a Muslim male in the 1910's. But reading further he was either a consummate liar when dealing with Nino or wishy-washy. I opt for the wishy-washy because he knows what he wants to believe for her, but also knows that in some instances it will never be allowed to happen by the outside world. One example, he tells her that he will never make her wear a veil, knowing full well that the family and friends will force her to do so in certain circumstances (going to Persia), if she ever wants to be outside the house.

What an interesting book. I had no idea about the history of Azerbaijan. For that matter, I didn't really even know where exactly it was. The book is about the intersection and conflicts between the Asian cultures and the Muslim religion, and the European cultures and the Christian religions, including those of the Armenians.
As Gail W noted in her spoiler, the book opens and we are given a lovely view of a country that is an accommodating crossroads that allows all cultures and religions to view themselves as brothers. Our Main Character, Ali, loves Nino but not necessarily for who she is, a European and a Christian who enjoys the the cultures of the western world. He is open minded, as is his country, even if it is lorded over by the Russia Czarists.
However, this soft quiet love story opening quickly gives way to a horror of conflict in which this reader not only was told but was made to feel the different judgements arising from very very different points of view. A woman is dishonored not by being raped but by being alone in a car with a man. A horse is dishonored by allowing a rider, other than the owner, to ride him. The novel then moves on to how this conflict simply can not be resolved. Ali loves his country, and he sees his country as being Asiatic. Nino loves Ali but she is nevertheless who she is, she can not wear the veil to keep her honor because wearing the veil, in her mind, dishonors her. History rolls on and the poor young country at the crossroads is once again confronted with being a pawn in the play of the big powers: Turkey, England and of course, Russia.

This was an interesting book in terms of understanding traditional Azerbaijani culture, and the interactions between Russian, Azerbaijani, Turkish, and Persian culture at this time. The tolerance but tensions in religious belief, the changes in politics and what the status of a 'noble' is at any time.

The weaker part for me was the actual romance: Ali is relatively progressive for the time and place, but like Gail said above, it's still a lot of him making sure in direct and indirect ways that she'll give into his ideals.

Now, weirdly enough the most fun I had with this book is in who wrote it. I went down the 'who is Kurban Said" rabbit hole after reading the book and the whole case is wild and full of coincidences that line up for every suspected candidate, and I think it would make a great historical fiction novel of its own. Highly recommend doing so.