MANASCHI
BY Hamid Ismailov / TRanslated from uzbek BY Donald Rayfield
Finalist, Prix Jan Michalski de Littérature 2023
Shortlisted, EBRD Literature Prize 2022
In his latest tragicomedy Hamid Ismailov interrogates the interaction between tradition and modernity, myth and reality.
A radio presenter interprets one of his dreams as an initiation by the world of spirits into the role of a Manaschi, a Kyrgyz bard and shaman who recites and performs the epic poem, Manas, and is revered as someone connected with supernatural forces. Travelling to his native mountainous village, populated by Tajiks and Kyrgyz, and unravelling his personal and national history, our hero Bekesh instead witnesses a full re-enactment of the epic’s wrath.
Following on from the award winning The Devils' Dance and Of Strangers and Bees, this is the third and final book in Ismailov's informal Central Asia trilogy.
Contributors’ details
Born in 1954 in Tokmok, Kyrgyzstan, Hamid Ismailov is an Uzbek journalist and writer who was forced to flee Uzbekistan in 1992 due to what the state dubbed ‘unacceptable democratic tendencies’. He came to the United Kingdom, where he took a job with the BBC World Service where he worked for 25 years. His works are banned in Uzbekistan. Several of his Russian-original novels have been published in English translation, including The Railway, The Dead Lake, which was long listed for the 2015 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize, and The Underground. The Devils’ Dance is the first of his Uzbek novels to appear in English, and the translation by Donald Rayfield and John Farndon won the 2019 ERBD Literature Prize. His second book published by Tilted Axis Press is Of Strangers and Bees, about an Uzbek writer in exile who traces the fate of the medieval polymath Avicenna.
Donald Rayfield is Emeritus Professor of Russian and Georgian at Queen Mary University of London. He is an author of books about Russian and Georgian literature, and about Joseph Stalin and his secret police. He is also a series editor for books about Russian writers and intelligentsia. He translated Georgian and Russian poets and prose writers.
Praise
PRAISE for Of Strangers and Bees
‘Learned, strange and charming, Of Strangers and Bees enriched my understanding of history.’ — Marcel Theroux, The Guardian (Book of the Day)
‘Any reader might find themselves with a pen and paper handy, ready to take down tokens of wisdom. (…) For all its depth and complexity, Of Strangers and Bees remains a page-turner, driven by Sheikhov’s captivating inner monologue.’ — Hannah Weber, Calvert Journal
‘This is a magnificent epic (…) should be a must-read for anyone who likes reading diverse literature.’ — Rabeea Saleem, BookRiot
‘Many of the episodes are beguiling. One could characterize the overall effect as Master and Margarita comes to the Uzbek Cultural Center of Queens, NY.’ — David Chaffetz, Asian Review of Books
PRAISE for The Devils’ Dance
‘A mesmerising — and terrifying — novel of tremendous range, energy and potency. This brilliant translation establishes Ismailov as a major literary figure on the international scene’ — William Boyd
‘A beguiling tale of khans, commissars, spies and poet-queens... feature in a rare English translation of modern Uzbek fiction’ — Economist
'Captivating... A rare example of Uzbek literature translated into the English language – in this case admirably so by Donald Rayfield.' — Times Literary Supplement
'Ismailov shows that even under extreme duress, a writer's mind will still swim with ideas and inspiration... Rebellious, ironic, witty and lyrical... A work that both honours and renews that rich tradition [of Central Asian literature]' — Financial Times
‘[Ismailov is] a writer of immense poetic power.’ — Guardian
MORE INFORMATION
Publication date: 29 July 2021
Format: B-format paperback (198mm × 129mm)
Extent: 257pp
ISBNs: 978-1-911284-57-4 (paperback) / 978-1-911284-56-7 (ebook)
Rights held: World English
