Description
Book SynopsisThe three novellas of
Farewell, Aylis take place over decades of transition in a country that rather resembles modern-day Azerbaijan. In
Yemen, a Soviet traveler takes an afternoon stroll and finds himself suspected of defecting to America. In
Stone Dreams, an actor explores the limits of one man’s ability to live a moral life amid conditions of sociopolitical upheaval, ethnic cleansing, and petty professional intrigue. In
A Colossal Mess, those who serve the aging leader of a corrupt, oil-rich country scheme to stay alive.
Farewell, Aylis, a new essay by the author that reflects on the political firestorm surrounding these novellas and his current situation as a prisoner of conscience in Azerbaijan, was commissioned especially for this Academic Studies Press edition.
Trade Review"There is also an afterword, “Farewell, Aylis!”, an essay written by Akram Aylisli himself for this English translation edition, which, like the stories preceding it, uses a dream to usher us into his reflections on his current situation. In it, he writes, “And I want to serve my motherland not as a patriot but as a writer.” And that is what he has done with these stories, making him perhaps the true patriot who does what is truly needed for his country and not what pleases and flatters. One, however, needs to read him first and foremost as a writer and be enamored of the allure of his storytelling [...] The book is beautifully translated from the Russian, not the original Azeri, by Katherine E. Young." — Asymptote Journal
