@brittarnhild
September 2010 says the writing under my name on the first page of Ali and Nino. I remember I had heard of this book, was tempted and bought it. A little later I found The Orientalist by Tom Reiss, a book about the mysterious author Kurban Said. Since then both books have been in my shelves, from time to time crying out my name, "read me! read us!". I had to start this Visiting the World Through Books - project to actually come around, reading the books. Well, so far only Ali and Nino, but The Orientalist is also here on my desk. As it has no natural space in my world reading project, it might take some time still until I read it, but who knows, my curiosity might kill the cat earlier.
Ali and Nino is a love story of a young couple living in Azerbaijan before and during WWI. Ali a Muslim, Nino a Christian, and though their love story the book tells the difference between Europe and Asia and the fatal challenges when the two different worl meets.
Kurban Said, the author of the book, is a mystery, and scolars, even today, do not agree who he is. He might have been a Jew from Azerbaijan, and the country count Ali and Nino as one of their country´s most famous book. Identity is a main topic of the book, and is focused already in the first sentences when Ali and his school mates are forced by their geography teacher to turn towards Europe, put their back to Asia. Ali refuses to do this, he feels stronly an Asian, and throughout the book this will be a constant fight for him in his relationship with Nino who loves the European ways.
Though originally published in 1937, the tale is just as relevant today with Europe´s terrorism and refugee situation.
