Novel
Кең-Суу
Not translated into English
Tugelbay Sydykbekov · 1937
Synopsis
The novel follows the life of a Kyrgyz ail, the author's native village, whose name it bears. The first book depicts this village before collectivisation, in the early days of Soviet power; the second tells of collectivisation and the birth of the kolkhoz. The story realistically shows the class struggle in the village.
Context
The first book appeared in 1937 with Kyrgyzmambas, the second soon after, and a single-volume edition followed in 1941. Regarded as the first novel of Kyrgyz literature, it was later reworked by the author under the title Among the Mountains, published from 1955 onwards, a version translated into Russian and several Soviet languages. The 1937 novel has been translated neither into French nor into English.
Who it is for
To read the novel that opens the history of the Kyrgyz novel, at the moment when the kolkhozes transform the countryside.
Prizes and reception
The essayist Mikhail Kachan reports that critics judged it "ample" and "rich in scenes and images".