Aitmatov is a Kyrgyz writer who passed away this year. I have never heard of him or his books, but a friend recommended this book to me recently. As is usually the case with friends' recommendations, this book turned out to be a real gem.

The story takes place over the course of one day, and includes one major plot and one short sub-plot. Yedigei, a railroad worker in remote Kazakhstan, sets out to bury his old friend, Kazangap, in an old cemetery. Throughout the long journey to the cemetery, Yedigei recounts his personal history and that of the few other souls that live with him at the remote railroad station. The shorter sub-plot involves the discovery of extraterrestrial life by an American astronaut and a Soviet cosmonaut. The location of the Soviet launch site near Yedigei's station serves as the background for this science-fiction background story.

I will not go into the plot itself; it is far too elaborate and clever for me to try to summarise it in a few short paragraphs. Aitmatov paints an achingly beautiful picture of hardships of life in the remote steppes of central Asia under Soviet rule. He succeeds in describing the rich tradition and history of the local people and how their culture and practices are challenged by the laws of the Communist regime. The animal world plays a major role in the story, with Yedigei's camel, Karanar, being one of the main characters in the book. There is an ever-present criticism of the Soviet regime, but it is so subtle that the book does not become an anti-government manifest.

The sub-plot about the extraterrestrials seems, at first, to be entirely disconnected from the main story. However, as details about the discovery become more apparent, and especially the reaction of the leaders of the USA and the USSR to the discovery, it all comes together. Yedigei's earthly worries and dealings are interwoven with galactic events, to make a strong statement about the human condition. The past, present and future are interwoven in an intricately designed masterpiece.

It's hard to do justice to this book by attempting to review it. I learnt a lot about Kazakh culture and the hard-working rural inhabitants of the Sarozek desert. But mostly I learnt that one can tackle the big questions in life through a simple story. In two words, my recommendation is: read it. ( )

My entry for Around the World for a Good Book for Kyrgyzstan tells the story of Burannyi Yedigei, a man who works the railroads in a remote outpost of the Soviet Union, as he attempts to bring his old friend Kazangap's body to his peoples' traditional burial ground. While this main plot serves as a frame for the novel and is presumably set in the 1970's, much of the story takes place in the early 1950s and while I suspected the flashbacks would offer insight into Kazangap, he plays only a small - yet wise - part in the story. Instead Yedigei befriends an outcast family because the man in the family was captured during World War II. His friend is arrested by the Stalinist authorities and eventually dies in custody, and to add to the tragedy Yedigei falls in love with his widow, who moves away with her children without saying goodbye. This tragic story is interspersed with traditional folk tales that reflect on Yedigei's life and thoughts. A bizarre but interesting parallel story tells of a joint US-Soviet space station that makes contact with an advanced civilization on another planet. Cold War hysteria overrides this chance for peace and discovery, as the authorities abandon the cosmonauts and surround earth in a web of nuclear weapons. The two stories come together in a sense when Yedigei and his companions discover that their traditional burial ground is within the station where the rocket ships are launched, and after a confrontation with the authorities they are forced to bury Kazangap elsewhere. This book is well-written and interesting if a bit uneven, but artfully captures the desolation of the land and Yedigei's soul. ( )

This book has it all - camels, the Steppe, aliens, trains and spacecraft.

I read that Aitmatov was actually from Kyrgyzstan, but that during the Soviet Union writers were encouraged to write stories/novels about other ethnic groups (such as he did with Kazakhstan in this novel). ( )