Novelties of Kazakh literature

Today’s Kazakhstan is a modern Eurasian state. The culture of the republic is the richest layer of the history of the Kazakh people, formed over many centuries. Under the influence of the harsh beauty of the steppe and the hard life of nomads, the Kazakh culture that we know today appeared.
This year, the publishing house “Foliant-M” once again pleased us with novelties of Kazakh literature.
Mukhtar Magauin “Time of Troubles” (dilogy)
Mukhtar Mukhanovich Magauin is one of the leading Kazakh prose writers, publicist, translator, researcher of the folklore heritage of the Kazakhs, Doctor of Philology. His epic novel in two books “The Time of Troubles”, created in 1980-1982, tells about the events of the late XVI and early XVIII centuries in the Kazakh steppe and Muscovy, about the first attempts to establish friendly relations between the two peoples.
In 1594, the first embassy from the Kazakh steppes arrived in Moscow. The mediators were Sultan Oraz-Mohammed and the remarkable scientist, thinker Kadyrgali Zhalair. The first book of the dilogy is dedicated to their mission and the amazing fate of Oraz-Mukhamed, who participated in the campaigns of the Russian army against the Swedes and Crimean Tatars and was awarded by Boris Godunov to the Kasimov Khanate for special merits.
In 1605 Boris Godunov died. The Russian throne is alternately seized by the impostors False Dmitry I and False Dmitry II. Oraz-Mohamed finds himself at a crossroads. The second book of the novel “Time of Troubles” tells about the fate of the tsarevich of the Kazakh Horde and the leader of the Kasimov Khanate.
Azilkhan Nurshaikhov “Truth and Legend”
Azilkhan Nurshaikhov is a People’s writer of Kazakhstan, a member of the Board of the Union of Writers of Kazakhstan, a war veteran.
Nurshaikhov’s novel “Truth and Legend” tells about the life path of Hero of the Soviet Union, military commander and writer Bauyrzhan Momyshuly.
Being a correspondent of the capital newspaper Nurshaikhov goes on assignment to the editorial office for an interview with Bauka. Meeting and communicating with the national hero, he drew up a portrait of the personality of the national hero, embodied in a dialogue novel.
The reader will be interested in the personality of Bauyrzhan Momyshuly not only as a military commander, but also as a person. In the book, Azilkhan Nurshaikhov was able to convey such qualities of Bauke as a sense of justice, honesty towards people around him, willpower and steel character. “Let this book become a monument that I erected myself!” says the writer in the preface.
For this work, the author was awarded the State Prize of the Kazakh SSR named after Abai. The book was republished by the publishing house “Foliant” in the series “Library of Kazakh literature”. I draw the readers’ attention to the fact that this novel is in the fund of the Interethnic Library both in Russian and in Kazakh (under the title “Akikat pen anyz”).
Miyase Sertbarut “Hidden by fog”
Do you know how many years crows live? A lot, a lot. What if someone tried to introduce the crow gene into the human body?
The main character of the book “Hidden by the Fog”, a teenage girl Eli, is sent by her mother on vacation to her aunt in a remote village. At first, Eli perceives the trip as an exile. But having met her peer Fuat and her mysterious aunt, she no longer thinks so.
When the base where genetic research was conducted began to threaten the entire region, people and nature, Eli, Fuat and aunt begin to fight against those who use people as guinea pigs.
The author of this book, Turkish writer Miyase Sertbarut, noticed already in childhood that books help to get rid of abdominal pain (but school makes it worse). Therefore, she read a lot, grew up and began working as a teacher to make the life of schoolchildren a little easier. And then she started writing stories where she tells how difficult it is to be a teenager and how important it is to find your way.
In 2021, this book entered the fund of the Interethnic Library in the Kazakh language (under the name “Cheese Zhasyrgan Tuman”), and is now available to the Russian-speaking reader!
Bulat Zhandarbekov “Sakhtar” (in Kazakh)
The historical dilogy “Sakhtar” takes the reader to the VI century BC, into the thick of events related to palace intrigues and love passions, the fall of great powers and the birth of new states, epic battles and legendary heroes.
The first book, the novel “Tomiris patshayim” (“Queen Tomiris”), tells about the birth and formation of two outstanding rulers of those times – the queen of the Massagets Tomiris and the Persian king Cyrus, as well as their confrontation, which will lead one of them to imminent death.
The second book, “Shyrak Batyr” (“Hero Shirak”), is dedicated to the ascension to the Persian throne of King Darius, and here the narrative of the life of the Saka tribes continues, which were weakened by wars, internecine strife and political squabbles. At this time, Darius decides to do what the great Cyrus could not achieve – to conquer the lands of the irreconcilable, but weakened nomads of Tomiris. How could the unknown shepherd Shirak, who was in love with the queen, stop the huge army of Darius?
In Russian, this book (called “Saki”) replenished the fund of the International Library in 2022, and this year it was purchased in the original – in Kazakh.
Nur Dombayji “A girl with disheveled hair and her chaotic diary – 2” / “Shatak kyzdyn shatpak kundeligi – 2”
In 2018-2022, the International Library acquired the book of the Turkish writer and artist Nur Dombayji “The girl with disheveled hair and her chaotic diary” (“Shatak kyzdyn shatpak kundeligi”), first in Kazakh, and then in Russian. In 2022, the Foliant publishing house pleased us with the publication of the second part of this book, first in Kazakh, and in 2023 in Russian. Thus, this wonderful book for teenagers is at our disposal in two parts in two languages.
In the second book, our old acquaintance, the broken Turkish girl Byush, returns! She hadn’t written anything about her friends and joint adventures for a long time and missed it terribly. Her old diary was over, and she bought a new one, in which she wrote and drew, as expected, every day. After all, she has such a life — not a single normal, quiet day! There are continuous incidents around, and on her head… pigeons. So she decided to start a new diary so as not to miss anything.
Byush’s chaotic diary is a hilarious story and at the same time a unique opportunity to look at the world through the eyes of a teenage girl. No matter how daredevil she is, Byush teaches us to take care of the elderly, show compassion for animals, help others in difficult times, be brave and fair, remain cheerful and never give up.
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These and other novelties of the Foliant publishing house are already available to readers of the International Library!