But Ali and Nino love each other and their love overcomes all cultural difference.They get caught up in the political events that are sweeping through the Caucasus as Russia withdraws, the Turks invade and individual states assert their nationhood. There are many impediments to their marriage- Ali is a Shiite Muslim with a fierce belief in the traditions and religion of his race Nino is a sophisticated, westernised Georgian girl – and a Christian there is little likelihood that she would want to end up in a harem.

Although others might see the First World War looming, Ali and Nino are too embroiled in finishing their exams and falling in love with each other to notice. Combining the exotic fascination of a tale told by Scheherazade with the range and magnificence of an epic, Ali and Nino is a timeless classic of love in the face of war.A timeless classic novel, last published in 1970, one that keeps being rediscovered and adored by new generations of readers who find it both a bewitching romantic novel of love and adventure and a fascinating insight into the gulf between East and West.Ali and Nino live in the cosmopolitan, oil-rich city of Baku, capital of Azerbaijan. Ultimately the lovers are drawn back to Baku, but when war threatens their future, Ali is forced to choose between his loyalty to the beliefs of his Asian ancestors and his profound devotion to Nino. To be together they must overcome blood feud and scandal, attempt a daring horseback rescue, and travel from the bustling street of oil-boom Baku, through starkly beautiful deserts and remote mountain villages, to the opulent palace of Ali's uncle in neighboring Persia. Ali Khan Shirvanshir, a Muslim schoolboy from a proud, aristocratic family, has fallen in love with the beautiful and enigmatic Nino Kipiani, a Christian girl with distinctly European sensibilities. It is the eve of World War I in Baku, Azerbaijan, a city on the edge of the Caspian Sea, poised precariously between east and west. It is a captivating novel as evocative of the exotic desert landscape as it is of the passion between two people pulled apart by culture, religion, and war. Out of print for nearly three decades until the hardcover re-release last year, Ali and Nino is Kurban Said's masterpiece.

Its mysterious author was recently the subject of a feature article in the New Yorker, which has inspired a forthcoming biography. First published in Vienna in 1937, this classic story of romance and adventure has been compared to Dr.

Ali and Nino by Kurban Said