Banine

UNO DE LOS MÁS ORIGINALES, DIVERTIDOS Y TREPIDANTES LIBROS AUTOBIOGRÁFICOS DEL SIGLO XX.El elegante, irónico y conmovedor retrato de una mujer y una época extraordinarias.«Con una prosa exquisita y u

A scintillatingly witty memoir telling the story of a young womans determined struggle for freedomWe all know families that are poor but respectable. Mine, in contrast, was extremely rich but not respectable at all...This is the unforgettable memoir of an odd, rich, exotic childhood, of growing up in Azerbaijan in the turbulent early twentieth century, caught between East and West, tradition and modernity.Banine remembers her luxurious home, with endless feasts of sweets and fruit; her beloved, flaxen-haired German governess; her imperious, swearing, strict Muslim grandmother; her bickering, poker-playing, chain-smoking relatives. She recalls how the Bolsheviks came, and they lost everything. How, amid revolution and bloodshed, she fell passionately in love, only to be forced into marriage with a man she loathed- until the chance of escape arrived.By turns gossipy and romantic, wry and moving, Days in the Caucasus is a coming-of-age story and a portrait of a vanished world. Banine shows us what it means to leave the past behind, and how it haunts us.Banine was born Umm El-Banu Assadullayeva in 1905, into a wealthy family in Baku, then part of the Russian Empire. Following the Russian Revolution and the subsequent fall of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, Banine was forced to flee her home-country - first to Istanbul, and then to Paris. In Paris she formed a wide circle of literary acquaintances including Nicos Kazantzakis, Andre Malraux, Ivan Bunin and Teffi and eventually began writing herself. Days in the Caucasus is Banines most famous work. It was published in 1945 to critical acclaim but has never been translated into English, until now.

The Orient Express hurtles towards the promised land, and Banine is free for the first time in her life. She has fled her ruined homeland and unhappy forced marriage for a dazzling new future in Paris. Now she cuts her hair, wears short skirts, mingles with Russian emigres, Spanish artists, writers and bohemians in the 1920's beau monde - and even contemplates love.But soon she finds that freedom brings its own complications. As her family's money runs out, she becomes a fashion model to survive. And when a glamorous figure from her past returns, life is thrown further into doubt.Banine has always been swept along by the forces of history. Can she keep up with them now?Told with vivacious wit and a lust for life, this companion to Days in the Caucasus is a bittersweet portrayal of youthful dreams, and the elusive search for happiness

A rediscovered classic memoir the scintillatingly witty account of one extraordinary woman s life during a turbulent century A voice so vivid it seems impossible that it should ever have been forgotten Evening Standard An effervescent and irreverent feat of recollection and imagination Wall Street Journal We all know families that are poor but respectable Mine in contrast was extremely rich but not respectable at all This is the unforgettable memoir of a childhood spent in Azerbaijan in the turbulent early twentieth century caught between East and West tradition and modernity Banine remembers her luxurious home her beloved German governess and her imperious Muslim grandmother She recalls how the Bolsheviks came and how amid revolution and bloodshed she fell passionately in love only to be forced into marriage with a man she loathed until the chance of escape arrived The story of Banine s life is both a wry romantic coming of age tale and a touching portrait of a vanished world It is continued in her companion memoir Parisian Days PRAISE FOR DAYS IN THE CAUCASUS An enchanting memoir Jane Shilling Evening Standard This jewel of a memoir written in 1945 but only now published in English has all the makings of a Tolstoyan drama Th

A scintillating bookTLSHer company is a delightTatlerPart memoir, part social history... sumptuous and unsparingFinancial TimesA brilliantly witty memoir telling the story of a young womans determined struggle for freedomThe Orient Express hurtles towards the promised land, freeing Banine from her past. Escaping her ruined homeland and forced marriage, she aspires to a dazzling future in Paris.As a chic Parisienne she mingles with emigres, artists and writers-and even contemplates love. But freedom brings challenges. Swept along by the forces of history, can Banine keep up?Filled with vivacious wit and a lust for life, this companion to Days in the Caucasus is a paean to bittersweet dreams and the quest for happiness.

UNO DE LOS MÁS ORIGINALES, DIVERTIDOS Y TREPIDANTES LIBROS AUTOBIOGRÁFICOS DEL SIGLO XX. El elegante, irónico y conmovedor retrato de una mujer y una época extraordinarias. «Con una prosa exquisita

Vuelve la autora de Los días del CáucasoEl Orient Express avanza a toda a máquina a través de la estepa y Banine es libre por primera vez en su vida. Ha huido de su patria en ruinas y de su matrimonio forzado para labrarse un nuevo y deslumbrante futuro en la tierra prometida: Paris. Una ciudad que invita a cortarse el pelo, a llevar faldas cortas y a mezclarse hasta altas horas de la noche con todo tipo de exiliados: aristocratas rusos, artistas españoles y demas bohemios del beau monde de los años veinte. Pero muy pronto ?cuando su familia se quede sin dinero, ella tenga que trabajar como modelo para sobrevivir y una glamurosa figura de su pasado vuelva a entrar en escena?, la autora descubrira que tambien la libertad acarrea sus propias complicaciones, y que las fuerzas de la Historia nunca han dejado de actuar?Compañera de la fabulosa Los dias del Caucaso, esta elegante, ironica y conmovedora memoire presenta con vivacidad e ingenio a una mujer y una epoca extraordinarias, a la vez que traza un agridulce retrato de los sueños de juventud y de la siempre esquiva busqueda de la felicidad. Con una pluma espontanea e ingeniosa, Banine narra como descubrio que la vida puede ser mas novelesca que cualquier novela. ABCSu autenticidad es, sin duda, la clave, unida a un tono narrativo cercano e inteligente. La RazonBanine: una autora secreta que sale a la luz 75 años despues. El Pais

Vuelve la autora de Los días del CáucasoEl Orient Express avanza a toda a máquina a través de la estepa y Banine es libre por primera vez en su vida. Ha huido de su patria en ruinas y de su matrimonio forzado para labrarse un nuevo y deslumbrante futuro en la tierra prometida: Paris. Una ciudad que invita a cortarse el pelo, a llevar faldas cortas y a mezclarse hasta altas horas de la noche con todo tipo de exiliados: aristocratas rusos, artistas españoles y demas bohemios del beau monde de los años veinte. Pero muy pronto cuando su familia se quede sin dinero, ella tenga que trabajar como modelo para sobrevivir y una glamurosa figura de su pasado vuelva a entrar en escena, la autora descubrira que tambien la libertad acarrea sus propias complicaciones, y que las fuerzas de la Historia nunca han dejado de actuarCompañera de la fabulosa Los dias del Caucaso, esta elegante, ironica y conmovedora memoire presenta con vivacidad e ingenio a una mujer y una epoca extraordinarias, a la vez que traza un agridulce retrato de los sueños de juventud y de la siempre esquiva busqueda de la felicidad. Con una pluma espontanea e ingeniosa, Banine narra como descubrio que la vida puede ser mas novelesca que cualquier novela. ABCSu autenticidad es, sin duda, la clave, unida a un tono narrativo cercano e inteligente. La RazonBanine: una autora secreta que sale a la luz 75 años despues. El PaisProyecto financiado por la Direccion General del Libro y Fomento de la Lectura, Ministerio de Cultura y Deporte. Proyecto financiado por la Union Europea-Next Generation EU