Description
Book SynopsisAn ancient Central Asian epic, passed down through generations, carries the reader into a world of nomads, warriors and horselords
A Penguin ClassicThis tale from the Manas epic gives the reader startling, brilliantly colored access to the world of the horse-based nomad cultures of Central Asia. Written down in the early twentieth century but drawing on sources of antiquity,
The Memorial Feast for Kökötöy Khan is the bravura telling of the story of a new and uncertain khan, Boqmurun, and his decision to hold a great gathering to commemorate the life and death of Kökötoy, his already legendary predecessor. From the Muslim lands to the west to China in the east, great warriors and their turbulent retinues gather in the high grasslands to feast, compete and quarrel. Beautifully translated by Daniel Prior,
The Memorial Feast allows the reader to get closer than any other source to a sense of the values, glamour and oddities
Trade ReviewPrior's translation ... is written in
clear, idiomatic, and often lively English ... Prior's reliable and well annotated translation ... will certainly help further the popularity of the Kirghiz epic tradition. -- Karl Reichl * Turkic Languages *
Prior's translation reads in an appropriately
lively and energetic way - and even in this form lends itself to being read aloud ... a fine example of how to present a literary work from a lesser-known culture and tradition to readers. -- M. A. Orthofer * complete review *
