Jamilia (original 1957; edition 2008)

Kyrgyzstan.

Jamilia is more a novella than a novel. It appears to be a love story set against a backdrop of war, with multiple and conflicting loyalties and alliances, but is also an allegory about fighting for and longing for one's homeland. An enjoyable if brief novel that depicts a pastoral Kyrgyz village of more than half a century ago. ( )

Atmospheric.

This was a short book, at just 96 pages. An excellent translation from Kyrgyz, full of feeling and wonderful descriptions of the countryside of Kyrgyzstan.

Set during WWII, the men of the villages are all off fighting at the front while the day to day running of the farms is left to women, youngsters and the injured. Grain must be transported over many miles to collection points from whence it is delivered to the fighting soldiers. Seit, the narrator, his sister-in-law, Jamila and Daniyar, an injured soldier are responsible for making the daily trecks to the collection depot from their village.
Gradually we get to know the the characters and watch their interactions during these long journeys.

The book is described as a love story but it is also a taste of life in a remote part of the world, at a particular time in history.
Unfortunately my copy pretty much told the story on the back cover, so there were no surprises, but it was still an interesting read, atmospheric and spare. ( )

Jamilia is a stunningly beautiful novella whose only flaw is being so short that we must all too soon leave it behind.

The story takes place on a collective farm in the author's native Kyrgyzstan, then a part of the USSR, during the Second World War. All of the able-bodied men are away at the front, leaving to the women, children, aged and disabled the arduous job of bringing in the annual harvest of grain so essential to the nation's survival. The narrator of the story is a teenage boy, Seit, a budding young artist who has temporarily given up his studies to take over as the man of the family.

Seit has a crush on his slightly older sister-in-law, Jamilia, whose soldier husband, at last report, was recuperating in a distant hospital from unknown causes. Jamilia is a vivacious and assertive young woman, totally unlike any that Seit has known. Seit becomes both her defender and admirer, until passion takes matters in a direction that neither of them can predict or control.

True to his artistic inclinations, the narrator's descriptions of the steppes and valleys of Kyrgyzstan are sumptuous and enticing. There are only a few hints about the customs and characteristics of the Kirghiz people. Nor is there much said about collective farming or the Soviet system. The focus is on the people and the land, making Jamilia a story of timeless appeal. ( )

A short read I was sent as a bonus with another. Set in WW2, a boy tells the tale of his beloved and very different sister-in-law, Jamilia.

Seit is an artist looking back at a time when he painted his sister-in-law, a beautiful, but unusual, woman that he was in love with. Through his memories, we see a snapshot of life at the time, of a village missing its young men who were off at war. Jamilia finds herself living with her in-laws, who she barely knows, waiting for news from her husband, even if she appears in his letters as a perfunctory after thought. Her world is turned upside down by Daniyar, injured and so out of the army. He doesn't chase her like the other men, but she is still drawn to him, to his poetry as much as his melancholy. Seit narrates Jamilia's self-journey and ultimate departure from his village.

One thing that surprised me on reading more about the book, was that it was written in the late '50s. Not because of the setting, but more because I found that the themes were still so relevant. Jamilia, Daniyar and Seit are also characters a bit a head of their time, change is coming to the village, one that will sweep many of the local customs aside. The book is short, but worth a read as you get a glimpse into a small little-known country and its customs and a memorable love story. ( )

This was a wonderfully moving love story that packed a punch for such a small book. It felt like an old folk tale. ( )