A very unusual book and fun to read! Even though it was originally published In French and Azeri (I believe) over sixty years ago it felt very current. Kudos to the translator! The descriptions of her relatives and others made me laugh out loud. On a more serious note, sadly, the same ethnic battles and deaths are still happening today.

Days in the Caucasus is a rich text, full of place and description. I enjoyed reading this work immensely, and recommend it for readers who are on the lookout for a powerful memoir and a lovely literary voice.

Umm-El-Banine Assadoulaeff was born in Baku, Azerbaijan in 1905 into one of Baku’s wealthiest families, millionaires thanks to the oil boom. She lived a life of luxury until the Bolsheviks came and her country was later absorbed into the Soviet Union. Banine, the name she adopted after her emigration to France, lived a life of privilege during these turbulent times, until it was all snatched away from her and from her family. But this is definitely not a “woe-is-me” memoir, but an enchanting, vivid portrait of an unfamiliar and now vanished world. The history of Azerbaijan, its customs and culture, come to life in Banine’s recounting. In turns romantic, tragic, comic, it’s an absorbing and wonderfully atmospheric book that takes the reader right into an unknown world. Written in 1945 but only now translated into English, it’s a gem of a book that I read almost at a sitting. Highly recommended.

what a beautiful, exceptional read. the storytelling was incredible, I felt truly immersed in the characters and environment. the story left me even after I finished the last page. an incredible read.

Days in the Caucasus is a great read. Published back in the 1940s, it has been translated into several languages. Banine grew up in the southern region of what would become the Soviet Union, in one of the -Stan regions. Her writing is frank and blunt. I thought her descriptions of her family were vivid and crisp. I enjoyed her depctions of her aunts and grandmother. She lived in a diverse area, encountering many different languages and nationalities. I know very little of those region so it was educational to read her memories of her childhood, WWI, and how the Communists took over.

A thoroughly fascinating account of growing up in Azerbaijan that left me hungry to know more about the author's life. This insight into often overlooked Azerbaijani history is much needed, and this makes the memoir very refreshing. The author's feelings about her family, and the interactions between them, engage the reader from the beginning and create quite the rapport between author and reader.