The Novel "Ali and Nino"
by Kurban Said (Pen name)

Covers Published in 29 Languages
The Azerbaijan International Collection

"Ali and Nino" by Kurban Said has been published in 29 Languages
Arabic, Azeri, Bengali, Catalan, Cantonese (Chinese), Czech, Dutch, English (Braille, Talking Books for Blind and Dyslexic, and a Large Print Edition), Finnish, French, Georgian, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Persian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil and Portugal), Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Swedish (and also Talking Books for the Blind), Turkish, and Urdu.

See more than 85 covers below - Last updated: March 27, 2008

Other articles related to Ali and Nino
1 Review: Inside the Soul of a Caucasian ­ Elin Suleymanov (AI 12.2)
2 Editorial: The World of "Ali and Nino" ­ It's Our World too! ­ Betty Blair (AI 12.2)
3 Baku City Tour: "Ali and Nino" Walking Tour - Fuad Akhundov and Blair (AI 12.2)
4 Photo Essay: Then & Now: Baku 100 Years Ago at the Peak of Oil Baron Period - (AI 12.2)
5 Article: How to Collect Kurban Said's Novel "Ali and Nino" ­ Betty Blair (AI 12.3)
6 Letter to Editor: Copyright - Leela Ehrenfels (AI 12.4)
7 Letter: "Ali & Nino" Rediscovered - Ismail Kafescioglu (AI 10.3)

Newest addition: Turkish 1971 paperback
Click on cover to enlarge. Best viewed in Internet Explorer.
For a drama version of "Ali & Nino" in English, contact Ned Bobkoff: <nedbobkoff@msn.com>

Arabic 1970	Arabic 2003	Azeri 1990	Azeri 1993	Azeri 2004	Azeri 2006	Azeri 2007	Bengali 1995
Bengali 2003	Bengali 2004	Bengali 2008	Catalan 2001	Cantonese 2007	Czech 1939	Dutch 1938	Dutch 1974
Dutch 1981	Dutch 1991	Dutch 2002	Dutch 2004	English 1970	English (UK) 1970	English (UK) 1971	English (Canada) 1972
English (US) 1990	English (UK) 1990	English 1996	English 1996 (proof)	English 1996	English 2000 (large print)	English 2000 (proof)	English 2000
English (UK) 2000	Finnish 1972	Finnish 2000	French 1973	French 1973	French 2002	French 2006	Georgian 2002
Georgian 2004	German 1937	German 1973	German 1973	German 1973	German 1981	German 1989	German 1992
German 1994	German 2000	German 2001	German 2002	German 2003	Greek 2002	Hebrew 2001	Hungarian 2002
Indonesian 2004	Italian 1944	Italian 2000	Italian 2003	Japanese 1974	Japanese 2001	Norwegian 1972	Norwegian 2005
Persian 1983	Persian 1992	Polish 1938	Polish 1938	Polish 2004	Portuguese 2000 (Brazil)	Portuguese 2004 (Continental)	Russian 1994
Russian 2003	Russian 2004	Russian 2004	Russian 2004	Serbian 2003	Spanish 1973	Spanish 2000	Swedish 1938
Swedish 1938	Swedish 1973	Turkish 1971	Turkish 2004	Turkish 2005	Urdu 1993

Purchase "Ali and Nino" in English, Azeri or Russian. Search at Store (AZER.com).

Please let us know if you know of other editions: Write us at ai@artnet.net.

"Ali and Nino" is the story of an Azerbaijani youth who falls in love with a Georgian princess. Essentially, the book is a quest for truth and reconciliation in a world of contradictory beliefs and practices - Islam and Christianity, East and West, age and youth. Much of the novel is set in Baku's Old City (Ichari Shahar) on the eve of the Bolshevik Revolution in 1918. The novel was first published in 1937, in a foreign country (Austria), in a foreign language (German), by someone using the pen name of Kurban Said (Gurban Said in Azeri).

The novel is so relevant today that it has been published in at least 29 languages: Arabic, Azeri, Bengali, Catalan, Cantonese (Chinese), Czech, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, Georgian, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Persian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazilian and Continental), Russian, Serbian-Montenegro, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish and Urdu.

Unfortunately, the cover artwork too often perpetrates stereotypes about the Caucasus. For example, the story makes slight mention of camels, yet they often appear on the cover. Istanbul does not figure into the action, but Hagia Sophia is used to represent Islam. Ali describes his princess as "the most beautiful girl in the world with the most beautiful nose and slim - far too slim for the taste of the Orient." Perhaps the artists didn't read that part. Often a young girl is featured on the cover, though the strongest character development comes through the eyes and voice of Ali, a very sensitive, searching lad. Though he loses his life in battle, it's still hard to imagine him with a turban on his head as warrior.

For specific details about the 100 editions and reprints, see "Ali & Nino Chart" that follows. [In Azerbaijan International magazine]. For guidelines for collecting this book, see "How to Collect Kurban Said's Novel". For the "Ali & Nino Walking Tour", see Summer 2004 issue (AI 12.2).

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