The Orphan Sky
by Ella Leya
Leila is a privileged young woman, approaching adulthood in Soviet Azerbaijan, where she is blind to the corruption, duplicity, and hypocrisy that are all around her. The beloved only child of a respected Communist official, Leila is beautiful and talented and has the attention of an up and coming young leader in the Communist party. Never having been exposed to anything other than the Azeri elite, she sees herself as a devout Communist and does not understand the price of her comfortable, luxurious lifestyle, even though her closest friend Almaz's life is nothing like her own. That all changes, somewhat predictably, when Leila meets Tahir, a young painter whose interest in jazz and other western influences have branded him as a rebel who is dangerous to the political status quo. Leila is tasked with learning his secrets and reporting on his activities, but when Tahir opens her eyes to life outside of Soviet control and shows her the reality of Communist power, she finds she cannot follow through. Her decision to follow her heart has far-reaching, tragic consequences that she could never have expected. Everything she thought was true ... is false. Everything she thought was real ... doesn't exist. And everything about which she had dreamed ... is out of reach.
The premise of The Orphan Sky is intriguing: what is it like to believe you are fortunate and in control of your own life and destiny, only to find out that your good fortune comes from corruption that ruins the lives of others and that you, like everyone else, are at the mercy of people you do not trust? Had it been better written, it could have been compared to Doctor Zhivago with its ill-fated love story, where passion seeks to rise above all else but ultimately cannot. Leila's struggle is whether to believe in her head or her heart and whether to choose her country or herself. The novel's point is that sometimes in life, perhaps there is no true way to win.
The Los Angeles Review of Books wrote a very positive review of The Orphan Sky, including historical details about the country and capturing the writer's successful weaving of Azeri myth into the story of Leila and Tahir. While I appreciate the reviewer's perspective, I did not enjoy this book enough to recommend it. For me, the characters fell flat when it came to believability, and the historical notes about ancient Azerbaijan failed to set the stage for the modern story taking place.
Other Books Considered:
The Orientalist: Solving the Mystery of a Strange and Dangerous Life, by Tom Reiss
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