num_pages: 296
description: Saken Zhunusov – writer, playwright and prose writer is one of the most distinguished figures in Kazakh literature. In his lifetime, he wrote four novels, more than ten plays, many collections of stories and over 100 academic articles.Zhunusov’s outstanding novel “Amanai and Zamanai” was published late in his career, in 1987. It describes the tragedy experienced by thousands of innocent people who were forcibly separated from their homeland and their social milieu by the collectivisation of the 1930s. Predetermined by their place in society, the novel’s protagonists are prevented from deciding their own fate. Nature is also described as a force influencing people’s destinies. The mountains stand as a symbol of eternity and their glaciers, winds and perilous paths underline the dramatic frailty of human life trapped in fatal, socio-historical circumstances. The book was translated into Russian and published in 1990 in the magazine “Molodaya Gvardiya”. The same magazine awarded its top prize to Saken Zhunusov for this novel. A film entitled “Zamanai” was shot in 1996, based on the novel and adapted into a screenplay by the author.
language: English
title: Amanai and Zamanai