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A review by spb3
The Dead Wander in the Desert by Rollan Seisenbayev
5.0
The Dead Wander in the Desert, Rollan Seisenbayev (John Farndon and Olga Nakston)
You can listen to my interview with the translator here: https://www.hourofhistory.com/the-dead-wander-in-the-desert-with-john-farndon-hoh-podcast-ep-95/
When I first heard about the Seisenbayev’s novel appearing in English I was captivated by the cover art. I imagine most people my age have seen a similar photograph of a boat in the waterless desert that was once the Aral Sea. I have had guests on the Hour of History Podcast talk about other natural disasters such as the disappearance of the Louisiana coastline and the nuclear fallout of the Chernobyl disaster, but never on the Aral Sea.
Reading literature in translation can be hit or miss, which is why I was intrigued by the collaborative approach employed by Farndon and Nakston. Farndon tells the story of Seisenbayev’s shaman telling him to find Farndon for this particular translation in my podcast. I think it ended up as a huge success.
This book is one you must spend time with. It is not something to be quickly raided, but rather carefully read - a great autumn read. It has poetry, long dialogues, and diversions through the vast plain that we now call Kazahkstan - a refreshing introduction to a fascinating country people don’t know a whole lot about.
As it continued, I felt like I was sitting and listening intently to Seisenbayev tell tales of Kazakhstan long into the night. The story challenges us with political, environmental, and religious questions such as this: “If the officials of Kazakhstan and the rest of Central Asia had sat at the same table and debated intelligently, they could’ve come to a decision and saved the sea. But now what? Each republic uses the wealth of the earth as if it’s their own property. We are not thinking about our children, not thinking about tomorrow. Everything is today, everything is now, now, now… and as many gold medals for your chest as possible!” Such passages resonate far beyond Kazakhstan.
All in all, it is a compelling book that can be taken as an entertaining novel, an introduction to central Asia, an exploration of Kazakhstan, or a unique look at central Asian Islam. It is poetry, politics, and the environment and much more which results in a really pleasant experience for the reader.
Thanks to Amazon Crossing for providing a review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
You can listen to my interview with the translator here: https://www.hourofhistory.com/the-dead-wander-in-the-desert-with-john-farndon-hoh-podcast-ep-95/
When I first heard about the Seisenbayev’s novel appearing in English I was captivated by the cover art. I imagine most people my age have seen a similar photograph of a boat in the waterless desert that was once the Aral Sea. I have had guests on the Hour of History Podcast talk about other natural disasters such as the disappearance of the Louisiana coastline and the nuclear fallout of the Chernobyl disaster, but never on the Aral Sea.
Reading literature in translation can be hit or miss, which is why I was intrigued by the collaborative approach employed by Farndon and Nakston. Farndon tells the story of Seisenbayev’s shaman telling him to find Farndon for this particular translation in my podcast. I think it ended up as a huge success.
This book is one you must spend time with. It is not something to be quickly raided, but rather carefully read - a great autumn read. It has poetry, long dialogues, and diversions through the vast plain that we now call Kazahkstan - a refreshing introduction to a fascinating country people don’t know a whole lot about.
As it continued, I felt like I was sitting and listening intently to Seisenbayev tell tales of Kazakhstan long into the night. The story challenges us with political, environmental, and religious questions such as this: “If the officials of Kazakhstan and the rest of Central Asia had sat at the same table and debated intelligently, they could’ve come to a decision and saved the sea. But now what? Each republic uses the wealth of the earth as if it’s their own property. We are not thinking about our children, not thinking about tomorrow. Everything is today, everything is now, now, now… and as many gold medals for your chest as possible!” Such passages resonate far beyond Kazakhstan.
All in all, it is a compelling book that can be taken as an entertaining novel, an introduction to central Asia, an exploration of Kazakhstan, or a unique look at central Asian Islam. It is poetry, politics, and the environment and much more which results in a really pleasant experience for the reader.
Thanks to Amazon Crossing for providing a review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.