Russian Matryoshka

By Hamid Ismailov
Epic novel in 6 parts (Russia/Uzbekistan)
Translation funded by Arts Council England. Seeking publisher

Renowned Uzbek author-in-exile Hamid Ismailov returns with his most ambitious project to date: an Uzbek take on the classic Russian novel, with a post-modern twist. More than one twist, to be precise. In 6 books of diminishing size, we experience the bohemian youth of writer Xamid in 1970s Soviet Tashkent; the odyssey of an older man, Georgy, spanning most of the Russian/Soviet 20th century; the career of Georgy’s true love, Lizzy, a professor in England; the mystery of Tsar Alexander I and the hermit Fyodor Kuzmich, who may have been one and the same; the story behind Prince Oleg’s selection of a religious creed for Ancient Rus’; and a post-Soviet tale of political upheaval and dastardly crime. Throughout, Xamid’s life and work is presented in contrast to that of his lost friend Oleg, who once wrote his own masterful novel, but burned it. As Xamid consciously and unconsciously recreates Oleg’s lost masterpiece, this pattern of X and O, opposites and reflections, substitutions and absences, connects all the diverse styles and stories in the book. Translation complete and fully funded. English rights available.
Read published samples in Turkoslavia and Asymptote