Book Review: Nisso By Pavel Luknitsky

This historic novel revolves around a girl named Nisso who lives in the mountains of Central Asia. She loses her parents at an early age. Her maternal aunt gives her to Aziz Khon in marriage. Aziz Khon pays her the price. One day Nisso decides to run away from Aziz Khon. She runs away and reaches a valley named Siatang. At Siatang she is under the protection of Sho-pir an ex-red army soldier. Mededev is a comrade and works in Siatang to improvise the life of the local population. Nisso is in love with him, but she does not express her feelings until later. Aziz Khon gets to know about the presence of Nisso at Siatang valley. He prepares a force of basmachi people. One day Aziz Khon attacks on Siatang in Sho-pir’s absence. Aziz Khon’s forces loot, plunder and kill people in Siatang. Khon wants to torture and then brutally kill Nisso. Sho-pir while returning to Siatang hears about the attack of Aziz Khon. He gets enraged and fights against the basmachi. During this fight he gets severely injured. To his rescue the red army men enter Siatang and capture the basmachi along with Aziz Khon. Sho-pir is badly hurt and is in bed. Gulriz’s son Bakhtior had been killed by the basmachi. Gulriz is devastated to see the dead body of her son. Sho-pir later recovers and goes to Volost with Nisso. This novel displays the oppression of the Khans in Central Asia; and shows how the populace was liberated by the soviets and soviet way of life.