Uzbekistan — The Book Roads

Books from Uzbekistan

Hamid Ismailov

In Of Strangers and Bees, Uzbek writer Hamid Ismailov weaves together the experiences of a contemporary exile and the extraordinary life of Avicenna, the celebrated medieval philosopher, physician, and polymath. The novel follows Sheikhov, an Uzbek writer living far from his homeland, who awakens from a troubling dream convinced that Avicenna continues to wander the world in different incarnations. Their journeys echo one another across centuries and cultures, moving through Ottoman Turkey, medieval Germany, and Renaissance Italy. Blending historical fiction, philosophical reflection, traditional storytelling, and Sufi mysticism, Ismailov explores the meaning of belonging and the loneliness of life in exile. The novel also draws on Hayy ibn Yaqzan, a landmark work of medieval Islamic philosophy concerned with knowledge, reason, and spiritual awakening. Through layered narratives and allegorical episodes, Ismailov considers how people search for truth and wisdom while negotiating the boundaries between cultures, histories, and identities. The result is an imaginative meditation on displacement, intellectual freedom, and the enduring human quest for understanding.

2019

We Computers: A Ghazal Novel

Hamid Ismailov

Set in the late 1980s, We Computers follows Jon-Perse, a French poet and psychologist who becomes fascinated by the possibilities of computer technology. With the help of his Uzbek translator, Abdulhamid Ismail, he develops a program designed to analyze and generate poetry. Yet the machine’s literary experiments open doors to worlds far beyond its code, weaving together philosophy, history, mysticism, and human longing. Drawing on the Persian poet Hafez, Sufi literature, French surrealism, and Central Asian storytelling, Hamid Ismailov creates an unconventional novel that moves through ideas and narratives like a literary labyrinth. Inspired by the ghazal—a poetic form traditionally associated with love and longing—the book explores the boundaries between human creativity and artificial intelligence, questioning who can claim authorship and whether literature can transcend the limits of its creator. It is a playful, intellectually adventurous meditation on poetry’s ability to connect cultures and centuries.

2025

The Devils' Dance

Hamid Ismailov

In 1937, during Stalin’s Great Terror, the celebrated Uzbek writer Abdulla Qodiriy is arrested by the Soviet secret police and imprisoned in Tashkent. Facing brutal interrogations and the constant threat of execution, he seeks refuge in his imagination, attempting to reconstruct the historical novel he was writing before his arrest. His unfinished work tells the story of Oyxon, a nineteenth-century enslaved girl who rises to prominence in the courts of Central Asian khans, only to become entangled in a dangerous world of political rivalries, forced marriages, and imperial intrigue. As Qodiriy develops Oyxon’s story in his mind, the boundaries between his fictional world and his own terrifying circumstances begin to dissolve. Their experiences mirror one another, connecting the struggles of a woman fighting for agency in a patriarchal society with those of a writer facing persecution under a repressive regime. Rich in Uzbek poetry, folklore, and historical detail, Hamid Ismailov’s novel is both a tribute to Central Asian literary traditions and a powerful meditation on artistic freedom, cultural identity, and the devastating consequences of political oppression.

2018

The Railway

Hamid Ismailov

In the fictional Uzbek town of Gilas, situated along the ancient Silk Road, a railway station becomes the centre of an extraordinary tapestry of human lives. Spanning much of the twentieth century, The Railway follows a diverse community of Uzbeks, Russians, Persians, Jews, Koreans, Tatars, and other ethnic groups whose lives intersect amid the upheavals of modern Central Asian history. Among its colourful inhabitants are an alcoholic intellectual, a Russian Orthodox priest, a formidable police chief, and an elderly moneylender. Through their stories, Hamid Ismailov captures a society caught between tradition and modernity, religious beliefs and revolutionary ideology, and local loyalties and outside influences. The arrival of the railway represents both opportunity and disruption, connecting this isolated community to a rapidly changing world while transforming its social structures. Blending humour, folklore, philosophical reflection, and historical observation, Ismailov creates a richly layered portrait of a multicultural society confronting the consequences of imperial expansion and Soviet rule. The novel offers a distinctive perspective on Central Asia’s complex cultural heritage and the profound changes that shaped the region during the twentieth century.

2006

Gaia, Queen of Ants

Hamid Ismailov

In Gaia, Queen of Ants, Uzbek novelist Hamid Ismailov weaves together political intrigue, mythology, Sufi philosophy, and the complicated legacies of Central Asian history. Set primarily in contemporary England, the novel follows three characters whose lives have been shaped by displacement and ethnic conflict. Domrul, a young Meskhetian Turk who fled Uzbekistan as a child, struggles to reconcile his Muslim heritage with his life in the West. His Irish girlfriend, Emer, carries her own painful memories of growing up amid the violence of the Bosnian War. Their lives become entangled with Gaia, an eighty-year-old Russian-Uzbek woman whose formidable personality conceals a disturbing past connected to Soviet political power. As their stories unfold, Ismailov moves between contemporary Europe and the turbulent history of Central Asia, blending realistic encounters with fables, religious parables, and surreal imagery. The result is a richly layered exploration of exile, cultural identity, corruption, and the ways people use stories to make sense of their lives. With dark humour and lyrical prose, the novel challenges readers to question the boundaries between truth, myth, and personal memory.

2020

Famous authors from Uzbekistan

About Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia, celebrated for its magnificent Silk Road cities, turquoise-domed architecture, and rich cultural heritage. Samarkand, Bukhara, and Khiva preserve extraordinary ensembles of mosques, madrasas, minarets, and bustling historic bazaars that once served merchants and travelers crossing between East and West. Beyond these ancient cities, Uzbekistan’s landscapes include fertile river valleys, vast deserts, and the foothills of the Tien Shan and Pamir-Alay mountain ranges. Uzbek culture reflects Turkic, Persian, and Islamic influences, shaped by centuries of trade, scholarship, craftsmanship, and cultural exchange. Uzbek is the official language, while Russian and several regional languages are also spoken. Traditional crafts such as silk weaving, ceramics, miniature painting, and intricate tilework remain important expressions of the country’s artistic identity.

Region: Asia

Literary Context

Uzbek literature has deep roots in oral epics, folk tales, lyrical poetry, and the classical literary traditions of the wider Persianate and Turkic worlds. Poetry has historically held a central place in cultural life, exploring love, spirituality, justice, knowledge, and the human condition. The region’s position along the Silk Road brought together diverse intellectual traditions, while later periods of Russian imperial and Soviet rule profoundly influenced literary language, themes, and institutions. One of the most important figures in Uzbek literature is Alisher Navoi, the fifteenth-century poet and thinker who demonstrated the expressive power of Chagatai Turkic and helped establish it as a major literary language. His works, including The Five Poems (Khamsa), remain foundational to Uzbek literary heritage. Zahir-ud-din Muhammad Babur, born in Andijan in present-day Uzbekistan, was a poet, ruler, and founder of the Mughal Empire; his memoir, Baburnama, offers a remarkable account of Central Asian life and history. In modern literature, Abdulla Qodiriy, author of Bygone Days, helped shape the Uzbek novel through his portrayals of society during a period of historical change. Cholpon, a prominent poet and novelist, explored cultural identity and freedom, while Hamid Ismailov, a contemporary Uzbek-born writer, examines memory, history, and political repression in works such as The Railway. Together, these writers reveal Uzbekistan’s enduring literary legacy and its role as a crossroads of languages, ideas, and civilizations.