A jewish writer looking to find his place at the beginning of the 20th century in Europe. I thought stories like this have been told so often, they cannot be anything but boring. Then came the Orientalist. The son of a jewish oil millionaire from Azerbaijan who had to flee from the Bolsheviks with his father. After stops in the Georgian Republic, Istanbul, Italy and Paris they end up in Berlin. The Orientalist was born Lev Nussimbaum, converted to Islam and called himself Essad Bey after that. In his last years he also published under the name Kurban Said. The man did not even live 40 years but his life story would be enough for three. On the side, the book tells you about Europe's history at the beginning of the 20th century and also how the rest of the world evaluated German politics at the time. A novel could not have been more exciting. I'm probably going to read it again, in English this time.
19. April 2014
Good Reads: The Orientalist
A jewish writer looking to find his place at the beginning of the 20th century in Europe. I thought stories like this have been told so often, they cannot be anything but boring. Then came the Orientalist. The son of a jewish oil millionaire from Azerbaijan who had to flee from the Bolsheviks with his father. After stops in the Georgian Republic, Istanbul, Italy and Paris they end up in Berlin. The Orientalist was born Lev Nussimbaum, converted to Islam and called himself Essad Bey after that. In his last years he also published under the name Kurban Said. The man did not even live 40 years but his life story would be enough for three. On the side, the book tells you about Europe's history at the beginning of the 20th century and also how the rest of the world evaluated German politics at the time. A novel could not have been more exciting. I'm probably going to read it again, in English this time.
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