Reviews - Zuleikha | The StoryGraph

189 reviews for:

Absolutely beautiful writing, but in terms of plot and characters not as good as many other "exile in Siberia" books I've read (and that is a larger number than you might think now that I look back on it).

egeuny's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous emotional hopeful tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

sidrareads's review against another edition

4.0

Zuleikha is a Russian classic story that takes place in Soviet Russia from 1930 to 1946. It follows Zuleikha Valieva who lives with her abusive husband Murtaza and manipulative mother-in-law. She lost her four daughters and lives a miserable life because of not having a son. While the Red Army is moving through the rural regions of the country removing people from their land, seizing their grains, and doing all kinds of atrocities. And when the communist soldiers come to take over their farms, Zuleikha’s husband is killed outright. After the execution of her husband, she has been sent into exile to Siberia. It took several horrendous months in a train to reach a desolate area, the Angara River in Siberia, but with many dying on the way. The exiled people are referred to as Kulak and were treated as enemies. As they settle under the supervision of a communist commandant Ivan Ignatov, who exhausts them with labor and squeezes the economic plans out of them. All that Zuleikha has known in her life feels distant in the present labor settlement camp, But she never gives up and finds a new strength she never comprehended she had.

This is not only the story of Zuleikha but also of doctor Volf Karlovich Leibe, Konstantin Arnoldobich, Izabella, a painter Illya Petrovich, and Ivan Ignatov the communist commandant whose life is also transformed in its own way. This is a powerful account giving an immense overview of life under communist rule. The way people were evicted from their lives and forced to settle into new ones, building a life from nothing was harrowing and pitiful. The writing style and prose were really beautiful and the author portrayed the events so vividly as if I am seeing everything with my bare eyes. The story is told from the third-person pov and the plot was eventful and proceeded slowly and steadily. The characters were developed thoroughly and deeply, especially Zulaeikha, who had lived in an abusive household without knowing her worth it was so emotional to witness her growth, and discovering her strength in the the wilderness of Angara. What everyone endured in that camp was unthinkable and heart-wrenching. The author did an exceptional job portraying the individual lives with realistic elements. The only reason I am not rating this book a five-star is that a part of the plot (Zuleikha’s relationship) seemed a bit contrived nonetheless, it’s an interesting and wonderful read about survival.

levlevlev's review against another edition

4.0

A very well written story following a Tatar woman throughout her turbulent life during a no less turbulent era of Russian history. While it was interesting to learn about some aspects of Tatar ethnography, most of the book strongly resembled pathos of Solzhenitsyn’s works related to the timeframe. Fun read nevertheless!