Hurramabad

The 1998 winner of the Anti-Booker Prize, Hurramabad describes the bloody national strife and the eviction of Russians from Tajikistan following the collapse of the USSR. The title is the name of the mythical city of joy and happiness where there is always an abundance of fresh water and shade. When civil war erupts in Tajikistan, many Russians are reluctant to leave at first. But life there becomes unbearable for "foreigners", replaced by atrocity and death. The shifting world is the setting of Volos's powerful novel. He masterfully creates vivid pictures from street scenes, snatches of conversations at the bazaar, comments by wise old men and life stories of simple people, both Russians and Tajiks.