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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
You could not make literature out of meaningless death. Death had to interact with life. Life was not more expressive than love, because love was a life-giving force.
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a difficult read due to dense language mixed with a slow pace and horrific subject matter. however, a comprehensive and informative look at Uzbek history (although as i went into this blind, i didn't learn until halfway that it was all based on real people and history...heartbreaking).
a difficult read due to dense language mixed with a slow pace and horrific subject matter. however, a comprehensive and informative look at Uzbek history (although as i went into this blind, i didn't learn until halfway that it was all based on real people and history...heartbreaking).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault
Minor: Child death
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
"The Devils' Dance" is a fictional account of Abdulla Qodiriy, one of Uzbekistan's most well-loved literary figures. In 1938, he was imprisoned along with many other writers, poets, learned intellectuals, and professionals during Stalin's Great Terror, and many of them were dispatched off on trumped-up charges during this time.
In this, Ismailov imagines what the famous writer could have gone through while in prison. Additionally, there's another book within this book as Ismailov further extends his imagination to include Qodiriy's unfinished third novel titled Emir Umar's Slave Girl, rumored to have been completed but is now lost and presumably destroyed by the NKVD (Soviet Union's now-defunct agency tasked to look after prisons and labor camps, and is responsible for the prisoner massacre depicted in this book). So in essence, you have two books in "The Devils' Dance", wherein writer (& now political prisoner) Qodiriy spends his time in prison trying to finish his third novel in his head.
This is the second book I've read from Ismailov, and there's definitely a pattern to them. His novels tend to weave in the narrator's story with Asiatic folklore and poetry, which means we get several tales within a tale. Since there isn't much translation of Uzbek works readily available, I can't compare it with other novels written by Uzbek writers, but I have a feeling poetry plays a major role in their storytelling.
I'm still not too sure not to make of this one. While I enjoyed it for what it was, I still feel like the two threads of the story felt disjointed, almost as if they were haphazardly patched together. It does make for a rather disorienting read at times, trying to keep track of all the different characters and timelines running around the book. Ultimately, though, I'm glad I read this and I especially appreciated the afterword that gives the context of making sense of the intertwining storylines.
This book will not be for everyone and can be an acquired taste; it's best if you have some appreciation for non-linear storytelling and a semi-complex narrative. Also, get ready to crack your head open over the meaning of each poem and how it bears to the characters' present circumstances because there will be a lot of those. Best of luck!
In this, Ismailov imagines what the famous writer could have gone through while in prison. Additionally, there's another book within this book as Ismailov further extends his imagination to include Qodiriy's unfinished third novel titled Emir Umar's Slave Girl, rumored to have been completed but is now lost and presumably destroyed by the NKVD (Soviet Union's now-defunct agency tasked to look after prisons and labor camps, and is responsible for the prisoner massacre depicted in this book). So in essence, you have two books in "The Devils' Dance", wherein writer (& now political prisoner) Qodiriy spends his time in prison trying to finish his third novel in his head.
This is the second book I've read from Ismailov, and there's definitely a pattern to them. His novels tend to weave in the narrator's story with Asiatic folklore and poetry, which means we get several tales within a tale. Since there isn't much translation of Uzbek works readily available, I can't compare it with other novels written by Uzbek writers, but I have a feeling poetry plays a major role in their storytelling.
I'm still not too sure not to make of this one. While I enjoyed it for what it was, I still feel like the two threads of the story felt disjointed, almost as if they were haphazardly patched together. It does make for a rather disorienting read at times, trying to keep track of all the different characters and timelines running around the book. Ultimately, though, I'm glad I read this and I especially appreciated the afterword that gives the context of making sense of the intertwining storylines.
This book will not be for everyone and can be an acquired taste; it's best if you have some appreciation for non-linear storytelling and a semi-complex narrative. Also, get ready to crack your head open over the meaning of each poem and how it bears to the characters' present circumstances because there will be a lot of those. Best of luck!
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I was devastated when I learned that all the characters in this book are real people who really experienced the horrors depicted. This book does a great job of capturing the despair and hope in hopeless situations, and really expressed the love for literature and poetry in Uzbekistan. I felt engulfed in the culture. I would recommend this book to anyone, but it does take some effort to get through as the language can be very flowery and the poetry can be elusive.
challenging
reflective
sad
slow-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
The edition I read was translated by Donald Rayfield and John Farndon.
On New Years Eve 1938, the writer Abdulla Qodiriy is taken from his home by Soviet soldiers and thrown into prison. To distract himself from the physical and mental torture he experiences, he attempts to mentally reconstruct the novel he was working on. A novel about Oxyon, a Uzbek poet and queen who was married to three khans in succession, and lived how Abdulla now does, in constant fear of execution. As Abdulla gets to know his cellmates, he discovers more about the political intrigue that happened during Oxyon’s time, about the English and Russian spies, and how it has similarities with his own experiences. As Adulla identifies with Oxyon more and more, the line between fiction and reality, the past and present blurs, and his inability to trust his own mind could be his downfall.
This was a very interesting book. It’s a difficult book to describe as it’s a story within a story. There’s Abdulla’s life in jail, the fellow prisoners he meets, some of which he knew from life outside prison, and others he had just met. There’s the soldiers and interrogators that make his life hell, and he’s on a constant knife-edge, not knowing who he can trust or why he’s been imprisoned. Then there’s the historical story of Oxyon, her different husbands, her time as a part of a harem and her poetry. This story takes place in the 1800’s and as it progresses you can see how events then can be compared to life in 1930s Uzbekistan.
As I read The Devils’ Dance I figured out that Oxyon’s story and the different characters mentioned in that part, were real historical figures, though some of what was written may have been fictionalised. However, I didn’t realise until to the Translators Afterword, that Abdulla Qodiriy was a real person too. It’s documentary fiction, imagining what his experience in jail was like and how he coped. Learning this gave The Devils’ Dance a new meaning in my mind. It made it more sad and made me understand Abdulla and his actions more.
The Devils’ Dance was a bit hard to comprehend at times. As the story progresses, the jumps between the present (Abdulla in jail) and the past (spies, khans and poet Queens) became less clear. To begin with, the shifts between time and story were obvious due to the formatting of the book, but as Abdulla gets more and more lost inside his own head, these stories start to overlap. Also, as I have no knowledge of the khans, queens and political turmoil historically present in Uzbekistan and the surrounding area, it was new to me and it was sometimes hard to follow these historical figures and their actions.
That being said, I enjoyed how The Devils’ Dance showed me a part of the worlds history that I knew nothing about. The different people and how they interact was fascinating. Clearly a lot of thought and research had gone into this book as you follow Oxyon’s life and the traumas she faces.
The Devils’ Dance is well written. Not only is there the text but there’s a lot of poetry in it too. This poetry is from historical poets like Cho’lpon and queens like Oxyon and Nodira. The poetry adds another level of meaning to the book as characters, both with Abdulla in jail and with Oxyon in a palace, express themselves through poetry.
The Devils’ Dance is an interesting read. It’s tough to get through sometimes, because of the brutality Abdulla faces and how it merges two stories separated by 100 years together, but the language used in it is often beautiful. It’s a fictional take on real historical events, but with a basis in research as so many historians and writers are mentioned by Abdulla and others, each looking at evidence and having a different idea as to what truly happened.
On New Years Eve 1938, the writer Abdulla Qodiriy is taken from his home by Soviet soldiers and thrown into prison. To distract himself from the physical and mental torture he experiences, he attempts to mentally reconstruct the novel he was working on. A novel about Oxyon, a Uzbek poet and queen who was married to three khans in succession, and lived how Abdulla now does, in constant fear of execution. As Abdulla gets to know his cellmates, he discovers more about the political intrigue that happened during Oxyon’s time, about the English and Russian spies, and how it has similarities with his own experiences. As Adulla identifies with Oxyon more and more, the line between fiction and reality, the past and present blurs, and his inability to trust his own mind could be his downfall.
This was a very interesting book. It’s a difficult book to describe as it’s a story within a story. There’s Abdulla’s life in jail, the fellow prisoners he meets, some of which he knew from life outside prison, and others he had just met. There’s the soldiers and interrogators that make his life hell, and he’s on a constant knife-edge, not knowing who he can trust or why he’s been imprisoned. Then there’s the historical story of Oxyon, her different husbands, her time as a part of a harem and her poetry. This story takes place in the 1800’s and as it progresses you can see how events then can be compared to life in 1930s Uzbekistan.
As I read The Devils’ Dance I figured out that Oxyon’s story and the different characters mentioned in that part, were real historical figures, though some of what was written may have been fictionalised. However, I didn’t realise until to the Translators Afterword, that Abdulla Qodiriy was a real person too. It’s documentary fiction, imagining what his experience in jail was like and how he coped. Learning this gave The Devils’ Dance a new meaning in my mind. It made it more sad and made me understand Abdulla and his actions more.
The Devils’ Dance was a bit hard to comprehend at times. As the story progresses, the jumps between the present (Abdulla in jail) and the past (spies, khans and poet Queens) became less clear. To begin with, the shifts between time and story were obvious due to the formatting of the book, but as Abdulla gets more and more lost inside his own head, these stories start to overlap. Also, as I have no knowledge of the khans, queens and political turmoil historically present in Uzbekistan and the surrounding area, it was new to me and it was sometimes hard to follow these historical figures and their actions.
That being said, I enjoyed how The Devils’ Dance showed me a part of the worlds history that I knew nothing about. The different people and how they interact was fascinating. Clearly a lot of thought and research had gone into this book as you follow Oxyon’s life and the traumas she faces.
The Devils’ Dance is well written. Not only is there the text but there’s a lot of poetry in it too. This poetry is from historical poets like Cho’lpon and queens like Oxyon and Nodira. The poetry adds another level of meaning to the book as characters, both with Abdulla in jail and with Oxyon in a palace, express themselves through poetry.
The Devils’ Dance is an interesting read. It’s tough to get through sometimes, because of the brutality Abdulla faces and how it merges two stories separated by 100 years together, but the language used in it is often beautiful. It’s a fictional take on real historical events, but with a basis in research as so many historians and writers are mentioned by Abdulla and others, each looking at evidence and having a different idea as to what truly happened.
Literary fiction and I... still not a good match, but I come back to it time and time again... xD