Jamila | Litsy

Jamila | Chingiz A?tmatov

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#readingasia2021

This novella, set in #Kyrgyzstan, tells of Jamila falling in love with a shy young incomer to their village, while her husband is away fighting in WWII.

Claimed by some to be ‘the greatest love story ever told‘ I wouldn‘t go that far but it was sweet, charming and rather sad. (And I learnt something of life in Kyrgyzstan too)

And it ticks off what could have been a very difficult country! (It‘s available on Scribd)

Librarybelle, BarbaraBB

Librarybelle I definitely have to keep this in mind! 4y

BarbaraBB I read this one too. Wouldn‘t know any other book set in Kyrgyzstan! 4y

squirrelbrain Yes, there‘s not much choice is there?! @BarbaraBB @Librarybelle 4y

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DGRachel

Jamila | Chingiz A?tmatov

I read this today because it was short and it counts for #kyrgyzstan in #readingasia2021. I am, however, not going to rate/review it because I‘m sure I just didn‘t “get” it. I found it tedious, but I also rarely ever enjoy literary fiction, so YMMV. On one hand, it‘s a slice of life tale told by a teen boy, and on the other, it‘s a story of a young married woman who falls in love with another man and runs away with him. Bleh.

Librarybelle, BarbaraBB

Smarkies Unfortunately I think some of the reading selections from certain countries are going to be a little "thin" owing to what has been translated ? 4y

DGRachel @Smarkies I know you are right, which is why I‘m trying to manage my expectations and pick books in my preferred genres wherever I can to balance out the ones I know I will not enjoy. 4y

Librarybelle I have a feeling I‘ll be stepping out of my usual reading comfort zone for some books in this challenge. It‘ll be a fun way to experience something new! Great job finding one for a stan country! 4y

BarbaraBB I agree with @Smarkies and maybe my translation was better, because I did like it. The weird thing is that the title of mine is different 🤷🏻‍♀️

Jamilia

(edited) 4y

DGRachel @BarbaraBB It‘s honestly probably just me not the book or translation. Literary fiction is just not my thing. Occasionally one will surprise me and I‘ll love it, but more often than not I wish I‘d never picked it up in the first place. 🤷🏻‍♀️ 4y

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ReadingEnvy

Jamila | Chingiz A?tmatov

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Chingiz Aitmatov is a Kyrgyz author who wrote in Kyrgyz and Russian. Although Jamila was published in Russian, I'm going to count it for Kyrgyzstan for my ongoing Around the World reading challenge. ⤵️

ReadingEnvy Set during the long period of collectivism as a Soviet state, in the village where Jamila lives with her in-laws (her husband is a soldier on the front but is delayed in his return because of an injury, and in fact most of the able-bodied men are absent for the same reason.) ⤵️ 5y

ReadingEnvy Her brother in law, too young to fight, is the narrator of the story. He and Jamila harvest wheat together (to be sent to the front) and he is the witness to her interactions with others. He is also coming into his own artistic sensibilities. ⤵️ 5y

ReadingEnvy As in most books I have read set in this area, the landscape of the steppes require a lot of hard work, isolation, and horses are central to daily life. Jamila's father was a known horse trainer so she has skills in that area as well. 5y

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