From Publishers Weekly
Novelist Griffin (The Requiem Shark) wonderfully weaves historical facts and compelling characters in this adventure through the Caucasus region, the rugged land between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. As the current home to the republics of Georgia, Chechnya, Azerbaijan and Dagestan, the Caucasus region is politically tense and historically convoluted, but Griffin deftly explains the past and present state of the region through two parallel narratives. First, Griffin describes his travels though modern Caucasus with a small film crew as they investigate the legend of Imam Shamil, a Chechen leader who successfully fought Russian invaders during the 19th century and whose exploits continue to inspire Chechen fighters today. Griffin then recounts the many stories and myths regarding Shamil, "a figure revered throughout the region, yet virtually unknown to the West," but who was "a front-page regular of the London Times" as he fought against the Russians for almost 20 years. Through powerful descriptions of the fierce combat between Shamil and the Russians, which pitted a guerrilla forces of an indigenous people against the massed troops of an empire, Griffin shows the many ways in which "the echoes of Chechnya between the mid-19th and turn of the 21st century are remarkable." This short work is an excellent and richly detailed look at an important but relatively little-known geopolitical region.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
A great American writer, referring to his native South, said that the past is not forgotten; it's not even the past. He could easily have been referring to the tortured Caucasus. For over two millennia, the region has endured constant invasions and internecine tribal, religious, and ethnic violence. Presently, the Chechnya conflict is prominent in the news, but struggles between Armenians and Azeris, Sunnis and Shi'a, and various political factions are ongoing. Griffin journeyed to the Caucasus to examine the legacy of Iman Shamil, a legendary fighter who resisted Russian occupation in the nineteenth century. Yet, he discovered most of the current conflicts have roots even deeper in the past, and that past is alive in the hearts of Caucasians. Griffin is a fine writer with a sharp sense of both humor and irony. This memoir of his journey is filled with revealing episodes that are often amusing and sometimes frightening. This work is part history, part travelogue, and part lament for people who cherish their past but remain imprisoned by it.
Jay FreemanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
