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The Orphan Sky
The Los Angeles Review of Books describes The Orphan Sky "as authentic, disturbing and brilliant as The Kite Runner."
Set in the Middle East, The Orphan Sky mirrors the ancient Azerbaijani Legend of Maiden Tower.
Once upon a time when the evil Shah of Darkness ruled over the Land of Fire,
when the orphan sky peered at the Caucasus Mountains from the black dome of sorrow...
A young piano prodigy Leila from a priviliged family meets a Bohemian artist and dissident Tahir. They create a clandestine salon of two, searching for new ways of creative expression and freedom, unveiling the ambiguities between music and art, friendship and love.
The relationship between Leila and Tahir has been revealed, and Leila faces an impossible choice. Will she compromise her heart? Will she allow darkness into her soul? Entrapped by her talent and her gender, how much will Leila sucrifice for her music, her beloved, her dream, freedom?
Set in the Middle East, The Orphan Sky mirrors the ancient Azerbaijani Legend of Maiden Tower.
Once upon a time when the evil Shah of Darkness ruled over the Land of Fire,
when the orphan sky peered at the Caucasus Mountains from the black dome of sorrow...
A young piano prodigy Leila from a priviliged family meets a Bohemian artist and dissident Tahir. They create a clandestine salon of two, searching for new ways of creative expression and freedom, unveiling the ambiguities between music and art, friendship and love.
The relationship between Leila and Tahir has been revealed, and Leila faces an impossible choice. Will she compromise her heart? Will she allow darkness into her soul? Entrapped by her talent and her gender, how much will Leila sucrifice for her music, her beloved, her dream, freedom?
368 pages, Paperback
First published February 3, 2015
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3116 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 115 reviews
January 25, 2015
Steeped in music, color, ancient Azeri myths and stark realities of the late 70s Soviet Azerbaijan, Ella Leya's impressive debut, is at once a heartfelt coming of age story, a haunting romance, a breathtaking spy thriller—and a huge page turner to boot. Leya's biggest achievement is her ability to show a soul torn between the worlds of Communist royalty, bohemian Baku, and, later, the West—all places that demand certain sacrifices of body and mind, and where even success and freedom are, in different ways, precarious and equivocal. Reading The Orphan Sky reminded me what high flight human spirit is capable of for a beloved, for art, for a dream.
February 22, 2015
2.5 stars. The Orphan Sky is unique in that it's set in Soviet Azerbaijan, and I knew very little about that area before reading this book. Leila is a young pianist from a privileged oil family, happy to be rich and very proud to be a Communist. I guess most Communists wouldn't mind its edicts for a classless society if they were of the privileged class. Even the naive teenage Leila wonders at such contradictions, and finds herself conflicted. I loved the subtleties and irony displayed there.
Her world is about to change drastically. It's 1979, world changing in itself due to the Soviet Union invading Afghanistan. But also Leila learns some more truths about her revered father and her best friend, after meeting a pro-West young man and his grandmother -- he an artist influenced by classical music, she a retired mezzo soprano.
Due to my ignorance of musical terminology, of composers' specific compositions, and of the geography and history of this area, I found myself distracted when these things were being described. Leila's story and how she evolved was a much more compelling storyline. The author was born in the area and is a poet, composer, and singer. I think she has poured her heart and soul into this work.
An ARC from NetGalley and the publisher.
Her world is about to change drastically. It's 1979, world changing in itself due to the Soviet Union invading Afghanistan. But also Leila learns some more truths about her revered father and her best friend, after meeting a pro-West young man and his grandmother -- he an artist influenced by classical music, she a retired mezzo soprano.
Due to my ignorance of musical terminology, of composers' specific compositions, and of the geography and history of this area, I found myself distracted when these things were being described. Leila's story and how she evolved was a much more compelling storyline. The author was born in the area and is a poet, composer, and singer. I think she has poured her heart and soul into this work.
An ARC from NetGalley and the publisher.
May 6, 2015
was given this by netgalley to read and give a honest review ..this book is set in 1979 Azerbaijan where Leila a talented pianist feels that communism is the way forward until she meets Tahir who opens up her world to new musical influences and events start to change how she views the world and uses images of Azerbaijani folklore and how love can still survive in strange and corrupt world. this book is also semi biographical of the author who grew up and to me its on par with the similarities to the kite runner being based at a time of conflict in that area of the world.
July 17, 2025
The first part of this novel felt like another story of a teenager caught up in being a “good young Communist” in a Soviet Bloc country (in this case Azerbaijan, 1979) and then discovering all the cultural freedoms prohibited in the Soviet Union. But his novel proved to be so very much more! Our heroine is Leila, a classical pianist. Her KGB boyfriend “tests” her by asking her to spy on a supposed westernized “traitor”. As she gets to know the Tahir, the “traitor”, he exposes her to western culture from jazz music to modern art. Of course she is moved and enthralled. Through Tahir she also learns of the gulag and the persecution of innocent people. Meanwhile she discovers some unpleasant aspects of her father’s role as a high ranking communist. All of these discoveries are in conflict with her music, since the soviet state controls every aspect of her musical career. The plot thickens in many wonderful and tragic twists and turns.
But in the midst of a fast moving and turning plot, this novel dealt clearly and deeply with the repression of the Soviet government and its control over every aspect of every day life. For me the most moving aspect of the novel was how the author dealt with music, particularly classical music, and how, even in the worst environments, music is a necessary and redemptive element.
Several pieces are played a number of times by Leila in concert, and the reader experiences her inner thoughts as a celebrated pianist - - and watches as those thoughts change as she is more and more exposed to western concepts. We see the life of a concert pianist at that time and place, including the endless practice schedule, the pressure of performance and, above all, the need to please the State through art.
Leila is far from a perfect person, and her jealousy, insecurity and selfishness result in tragic consequences. However, as a reader, I wanted her to find the answers and love she so desperately sought.
There are many vivid portrayals of life in Azerbaijan in the 80’s, including moving flashbacks to past events. The author also beautifully wove myths/tales into the heart of novel. I will long remember this novel for the excellent way in which the beauty of classical music was interwoven into a scheming, heartless political structure.
But in the midst of a fast moving and turning plot, this novel dealt clearly and deeply with the repression of the Soviet government and its control over every aspect of every day life. For me the most moving aspect of the novel was how the author dealt with music, particularly classical music, and how, even in the worst environments, music is a necessary and redemptive element.
Several pieces are played a number of times by Leila in concert, and the reader experiences her inner thoughts as a celebrated pianist - - and watches as those thoughts change as she is more and more exposed to western concepts. We see the life of a concert pianist at that time and place, including the endless practice schedule, the pressure of performance and, above all, the need to please the State through art.
Leila is far from a perfect person, and her jealousy, insecurity and selfishness result in tragic consequences. However, as a reader, I wanted her to find the answers and love she so desperately sought.
There are many vivid portrayals of life in Azerbaijan in the 80’s, including moving flashbacks to past events. The author also beautifully wove myths/tales into the heart of novel. I will long remember this novel for the excellent way in which the beauty of classical music was interwoven into a scheming, heartless political structure.
April 28, 2023
Around the World Reading Challenge: AZERBAIJAN
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I knew hardly anything about this country before picking up this book, which is set in the late 70s/early 80s during Communist rule in Azerbaijan. The story focuses on the daughter of one of the Communist elite, a talented pianist and naively loyal communist--until her eyes are brutally opened. There were a number of twists and turns here I didn't expect, and it was darker than I anticipated, though not unrelenting or miserable. The plot was compelling and I sympathized with Leila and the hard, sometimes impossible, decisions she had to make. Definitely one I'd recommend!
===
I knew hardly anything about this country before picking up this book, which is set in the late 70s/early 80s during Communist rule in Azerbaijan. The story focuses on the daughter of one of the Communist elite, a talented pianist and naively loyal communist--until her eyes are brutally opened. There were a number of twists and turns here I didn't expect, and it was darker than I anticipated, though not unrelenting or miserable. The plot was compelling and I sympathized with Leila and the hard, sometimes impossible, decisions she had to make. Definitely one I'd recommend!
February 17, 2015
If Azerbaijan resembles an eagle soaring from Europe toward Asia over the Caspian Sea, then Ella Leya, a sharp-eyed, sultry-voiced musician and native of Baku, is its falconer. Leya sends readers of Orphan Sky, her first novel, to dizzying heights and vast distances—Los Angeles, Baku, Moscow, Kabul, London—then calls us back, always, to the ancient Maiden Tower, built atop underground reserves of petroleum known to ancient fire-worshippers for a propensity to escape, igniting. In Leya’s novel, as in Baku, oil is not the only thing smoldering.
Leya writes in English, not her first language, which could only have been music. Her lyrical prose soars and swoops, stops abruptly and changes key, while telling stories within stories-- of teen-age rising pianist Leila, whose efforts to be a good Communist and partner to an ambitious Soviet comrade are sabotaged by her greater passion for music; Aunty Zeinab, whose curses in Azeri evoke the best of Zora Neale Hurston; their daughter, Almaz, her “milk-sister” and best friend whose sudden changes hide a dark secret; Professor Sultan-Zade, the chain-smoking piano teacher with whom Leila begins study at ten, and the unforgettable hash-smoking Tahir, whose contraband records of the American singer Liza Minnelli and Soviet defector Vladimir Horowitz open a new world to Leila while igniting their love affair.
The story rivets as Leila moves between Soviet youth meetings, legends of the mythical Maiden Tower that dominates the old city of Baku, upper-echelon Communist party family life, and intrigue involving secrets and spies and a lost lover—a side trip Leila offers to perform Afghanistan for Soviet troops proves harrowing. Leya’s characters shift seamlessly between Azeri sayings and Soviet jargon, with refrences to American jazz and pop singers tossed in, forming a rich stew bubbling with different worldviews and cultures and languages. Leila’s story contains unexpected and sensual juxtapositions that made me catch my breath—for example, a scene in a girlhood visit to her industrialist father’s oilfield, he holds her to dip her hands in oil and then lifts her to place her handprints triumphantly on the derrick. In American classrooms of the Cold War, Soviets were portrayed as only our mass enemy. In Ella Leya’s sensitive hands, Baku and its inhabitants, individuals all, strut, simmer and sing.
Leya writes in English, not her first language, which could only have been music. Her lyrical prose soars and swoops, stops abruptly and changes key, while telling stories within stories-- of teen-age rising pianist Leila, whose efforts to be a good Communist and partner to an ambitious Soviet comrade are sabotaged by her greater passion for music; Aunty Zeinab, whose curses in Azeri evoke the best of Zora Neale Hurston; their daughter, Almaz, her “milk-sister” and best friend whose sudden changes hide a dark secret; Professor Sultan-Zade, the chain-smoking piano teacher with whom Leila begins study at ten, and the unforgettable hash-smoking Tahir, whose contraband records of the American singer Liza Minnelli and Soviet defector Vladimir Horowitz open a new world to Leila while igniting their love affair.
The story rivets as Leila moves between Soviet youth meetings, legends of the mythical Maiden Tower that dominates the old city of Baku, upper-echelon Communist party family life, and intrigue involving secrets and spies and a lost lover—a side trip Leila offers to perform Afghanistan for Soviet troops proves harrowing. Leya’s characters shift seamlessly between Azeri sayings and Soviet jargon, with refrences to American jazz and pop singers tossed in, forming a rich stew bubbling with different worldviews and cultures and languages. Leila’s story contains unexpected and sensual juxtapositions that made me catch my breath—for example, a scene in a girlhood visit to her industrialist father’s oilfield, he holds her to dip her hands in oil and then lifts her to place her handprints triumphantly on the derrick. In American classrooms of the Cold War, Soviets were portrayed as only our mass enemy. In Ella Leya’s sensitive hands, Baku and its inhabitants, individuals all, strut, simmer and sing.
October 13, 2017
Ella Leya has shaped a gem of a book in The Orphan Sky. It’s a highly intelligent achievement and offers rewards for a wide range of readers. She captures the psychological tension and daily fear living in an oppressive society through the life of a young girl whose coming of age is loaded with moral conflict. The book isn’t easy to categorise as its many things - a thriller, a love story, a coming of age, and a political critique. She opens the window to a mesmerising country, her childhood home of Azerbaijan. One can only ask, how does she do it, and when will we see the next book?
The protagonist is a young girl of fifteen, a gifted classical pianist who shows great promise of serving as a cultural trophy for the communist party in Azerbaijan under Soviet rule. Raised in a family of high Comocol standing, she benefits from all the wealth and advantages that go with positions of power under totalitarian regimes. She is an unquestioning staunch loyal party member at the beginning of the book, until she is assigned a mission which will slowly lead her down a road that forks only to re-fork upon itself again. She learns the suffering pain of deceit by others. Most importantly she experiences the torment of betraying not only herself, but the one person she loves the most, the man who challenges her to find her own path to freedom.
The portrait Ella Leya, the writer paints of the country of her childhood, Azerbaijan, is vividly brought to life through layers of ancient fairy-tales, a painters eye, and the ear of a musician - all of which inform the rhythm of her prose. The result a spellbinding sense of place. Baku, the home town of the main character is situated at a cultural cross-roads of Persia. Azerbaijan lays on the Eastern border of the Caspian Sea, with Russia and Georgia to the West, Islamic Iran to the East, and Turkey to the Northwest.
It is a well-paced beautiful read.
Highly recommend!
The protagonist is a young girl of fifteen, a gifted classical pianist who shows great promise of serving as a cultural trophy for the communist party in Azerbaijan under Soviet rule. Raised in a family of high Comocol standing, she benefits from all the wealth and advantages that go with positions of power under totalitarian regimes. She is an unquestioning staunch loyal party member at the beginning of the book, until she is assigned a mission which will slowly lead her down a road that forks only to re-fork upon itself again. She learns the suffering pain of deceit by others. Most importantly she experiences the torment of betraying not only herself, but the one person she loves the most, the man who challenges her to find her own path to freedom.
The portrait Ella Leya, the writer paints of the country of her childhood, Azerbaijan, is vividly brought to life through layers of ancient fairy-tales, a painters eye, and the ear of a musician - all of which inform the rhythm of her prose. The result a spellbinding sense of place. Baku, the home town of the main character is situated at a cultural cross-roads of Persia. Azerbaijan lays on the Eastern border of the Caspian Sea, with Russia and Georgia to the West, Islamic Iran to the East, and Turkey to the Northwest.
It is a well-paced beautiful read.
Highly recommend!
February 1, 2015
"The Orphan Sky" is the story of Leila, a talented musician and committed daughter of the Communist Party. Leila loves her music and she believes that Communism is the way to go for her beloved country. It is 1979 and her world is changing rapidly. Leila will have a chance meeting with Tahir, a fellow musician who opens Leila's eyes in many different ways. Leila will find herself trapped between love, free-thinking, and everything that she thought that she knew before.
Leila is a great character. The author did a great job of showing what a big transition that Leila goes through. In the beginning, we see an almost timid young woman whose life revolves around the fervent passion drummed up by the young Communist group that she belongs to. She sleeps and breathes it and doesn't question the mission that she is given to spy on Tahir. Tahir shows her that there is so much of the world that she is missing. He shows her the forbidden music that she is missing and it is through that music that we witness Leila and Tahir falling for each other. I really loved the love story between Tahir. Tahir is irreverent and shows Leila that there is another way. Leila realizes how dangerous it is but cannot help but to fall hard.
Before reading this book, I did not know much about Azerbaijan at all. I especially did not know anything about the country during Communist times. I love when a book can teach me something new. In a way, Leila's transition throughout the book reflects the changes that Azerbaijan was going through at the time. It was interesting to me to see how the author showed these changes set against each other. It really helped me to be pulled into the book. Overall, this is a great story of love and passion and the way that they have the power to change us mere mortals.
Leila is a great character. The author did a great job of showing what a big transition that Leila goes through. In the beginning, we see an almost timid young woman whose life revolves around the fervent passion drummed up by the young Communist group that she belongs to. She sleeps and breathes it and doesn't question the mission that she is given to spy on Tahir. Tahir shows her that there is so much of the world that she is missing. He shows her the forbidden music that she is missing and it is through that music that we witness Leila and Tahir falling for each other. I really loved the love story between Tahir. Tahir is irreverent and shows Leila that there is another way. Leila realizes how dangerous it is but cannot help but to fall hard.
Before reading this book, I did not know much about Azerbaijan at all. I especially did not know anything about the country during Communist times. I love when a book can teach me something new. In a way, Leila's transition throughout the book reflects the changes that Azerbaijan was going through at the time. It was interesting to me to see how the author showed these changes set against each other. It really helped me to be pulled into the book. Overall, this is a great story of love and passion and the way that they have the power to change us mere mortals.
March 7, 2017
A gem of a find when searching for a book to fit a reading challenge! Who would have thought that I’d find a book set almost completely in Azerbaijan?! The author herself was born there and emigrated to the US in late 80s. This book, therefore, seems to be set at the time when she would herself been a teen in Azerbaijan. The main protagonist, Leila, is a piano prodigy and it seems the author herself was a talented musician in her own right. It’s very interesting to know that the way of life reflected in this book most probably reflects the author’s own.
This novel opens with Leila in her 30s seeking closure of some sort. The story follows as she traced the events in her youth which brought her to her current dilemma. It is a coming of age story as well as a love story from which a parallel to a mythical tale of the Maiden Tower (an actual mysterious monument in Azerbaijan). In her mid-teens, Leila was a good girl; focused on her future as a pianist and firm in her belief of Communism. She was instructed to ‘spy’ upon a shop owner suspected as an American mole. What she found, however, was a talented boy with an arty soul that complemented her own. The way of true love, however, is never straight…
Despite my frustration of Leila’s naivety (how could she again trust that snake who she knew manipulated her earlier downfall?!), I felt that is a true reflection of her rearing; she’s had everything handed to her previously so it feels like she hasn’t any resources of her own! The Orphan Sky is a blend of legendary love in the modern world; a story full of treachery and heartbreak yet there is always hope.
This novel opens with Leila in her 30s seeking closure of some sort. The story follows as she traced the events in her youth which brought her to her current dilemma. It is a coming of age story as well as a love story from which a parallel to a mythical tale of the Maiden Tower (an actual mysterious monument in Azerbaijan). In her mid-teens, Leila was a good girl; focused on her future as a pianist and firm in her belief of Communism. She was instructed to ‘spy’ upon a shop owner suspected as an American mole. What she found, however, was a talented boy with an arty soul that complemented her own. The way of true love, however, is never straight…
Despite my frustration of Leila’s naivety (how could she again trust that snake who she knew manipulated her earlier downfall?!), I felt that is a true reflection of her rearing; she’s had everything handed to her previously so it feels like she hasn’t any resources of her own! The Orphan Sky is a blend of legendary love in the modern world; a story full of treachery and heartbreak yet there is always hope.
September 3, 2014
I always enjoyed Ella's music and was very intrigued by the news about her 1st book. Finished reading yesterday night and absolutely loved and appreciated it. It touched me very deeply - Ella's fantasy, imagination, associations, dreams and the heritage. The author found a very thin and beautiful balance to merge together her music, memories and the Soviet reality. Will be looking forward for the other news about Ella's future projects.
September 11, 2015
4.5
I picked this book up at the library because it was a librarian recommendation and because I was intrigued by the back cover (and the front cover too, since it's pretty). It seemed different from other books I've read because of the setting (Communist Azerbaijan in 1979).
15-year-old Leila is a loyal member of the Communist party, and she comes from an elite and privileged family. She is focused on preparing for an upcoming piano competition when the handsome Comrade Farhad, who's a couple years older, asks her to spy on a music shop suspected of traitorous Western influences. Then she gets to know Tahir, the painter who owns the shop, and things get complicated as she develops feelings for him and as she starts learning about the darker side of Communist society.
(The back cover makes it seem as if this is the whole book, when really it's about the first half; then a lot of unexpected things start to happen.)
The book was beautifully written, with vivid descriptions of music and art, a few fables and fairy tales, and a couple lyrics/poems within the text. I think what I liked most about the book was that Leila had to grapple with learning the truth about the people she loved and admired; everyone is more complicated than they seem, and sometimes good people do bad things (and vice versa). Even though she's very young, she has to deal with making a lot of tough decisions that will shape her future and the lives of others.
The book wasn't hard to get into, but it did move more slowly at first. I read the second half in one sitting. The epilogue seemed really abrupt to me and didn't leave me feeling satisfied as I think it was meant to. (These are the reasons I'm hovering between a 4- and 5-star rating.) I'd recommend it and I think it would be a great book club book since there's so much to talk about.
I picked this book up at the library because it was a librarian recommendation and because I was intrigued by the back cover (and the front cover too, since it's pretty). It seemed different from other books I've read because of the setting (Communist Azerbaijan in 1979).
15-year-old Leila is a loyal member of the Communist party, and she comes from an elite and privileged family. She is focused on preparing for an upcoming piano competition when the handsome Comrade Farhad, who's a couple years older, asks her to spy on a music shop suspected of traitorous Western influences. Then she gets to know Tahir, the painter who owns the shop, and things get complicated as she develops feelings for him and as she starts learning about the darker side of Communist society.
(The back cover makes it seem as if this is the whole book, when really it's about the first half; then a lot of unexpected things start to happen.)
The book was beautifully written, with vivid descriptions of music and art, a few fables and fairy tales, and a couple lyrics/poems within the text. I think what I liked most about the book was that Leila had to grapple with learning the truth about the people she loved and admired; everyone is more complicated than they seem, and sometimes good people do bad things (and vice versa). Even though she's very young, she has to deal with making a lot of tough decisions that will shape her future and the lives of others.
The book wasn't hard to get into, but it did move more slowly at first. I read the second half in one sitting. The epilogue seemed really abrupt to me and didn't leave me feeling satisfied as I think it was meant to. (These are the reasons I'm hovering between a 4- and 5-star rating.) I'd recommend it and I think it would be a great book club book since there's so much to talk about.
February 12, 2023
This book felt real, it drew me in : the story, the characters, the plot, the history, myths and music all participated in making me want to read this book any chance I got (even a three minute break). I discovered a lot about Azerbaijan and Azerbaijani culture in the era of the Soviet Union, a country a bit far-off the center of the communist revolution yet still strongly involved generating thus a double identity - which also reflects the issue of the protagonist, Leila, herself.
Reading this, albeit not having a lot of knowledge on music (a subject that is central in the book), was a magical experience. One of those books I’ll carry in my mind throughout life.
Updates : I still think about this book weekly
Reading this, albeit not having a lot of knowledge on music (a subject that is central in the book), was a magical experience. One of those books I’ll carry in my mind throughout life.
Updates : I still think about this book weekly
September 15, 2020
Ella Leya xanım Azərbaycan doğumlu, Yəhudi əsilli musiqiçi, yazıçıdır. Xanımın yazdığı roman, düşünürəm ki, Azərbaycan mövzusunda yazılmış ən yaxşı romanlardandı. Sovet Azərbaycanı Əsəd bəy (Qurban Səid) sayağı təsvir olunub. Çoxlu rəvayətlərdən istifadə edən müəllif azərbaycan mədəniyyətini mükəmməl təsvir edib.
Read
October 27, 2021Quote: “Autumn came. First inside me, then everywhere. Trees rushed to shake off their leaves like last year’s fashion and stood half naked, bowing to the advances of the northern wind. The Caspian Sea abandoned its good disposition and released its demons spewing out bursts of white foam”.
Such a good setting, Baku, Azerbaijan, 1979, somewhere that has always seemed so different, romantic, full of stories and legends, weill, this book has all of the above, sights, sounds and smells as you are taken on a walking tour of the city by Leila and Tahir, the Maiden Tower and other places are very well described as some of the legends, which are short and some of which are written here in the book, history and culture of the city, while reading this novel you can learn a little learning about communism and the changes happening in the country. It is also a very cultural novel.
Leila is a musician, a piano player and music is a huge part of this book. She has been living in a very small bubble of communism and luxury until she meets Tahir, when her bubble bursts.
There are plenty of genres here, like The Tobacconist, this covers historical fiction, music, politics, spying, communism, legends, love and friendship and a decent amount of corruption.
There were a few slower moments, especially in the beginning, but maybe that was me, I found it difficult to find more than a few minutes to read at a time when I started this novel, but later on I was able to enjoy the rest of this book. It is well paced, not fast, not slow, just right, while reading the parts with the music lessons and concerts I could imagine listening to the music while I was reading, the descriptions and details are perfect.
The interview with the author Ella Leya at the end of the book just adds to the storyline, as you learn a little about the author and her life/childhood. She does a wonderful job of writing in English, it is not her first language, so this is a feat in itself. She certainly shows her knowledge of music in the novel, which is explained at the end of the book in an interview
I can recommend this book to anyone wanting to enjoy some Soviet Azerbaijan history.
This book taught me a little about history in Soviet Azerbaijan, Baku in particular.
The next country we are visiting in the Read The World challenge is Belgium.
Such a good setting, Baku, Azerbaijan, 1979, somewhere that has always seemed so different, romantic, full of stories and legends, weill, this book has all of the above, sights, sounds and smells as you are taken on a walking tour of the city by Leila and Tahir, the Maiden Tower and other places are very well described as some of the legends, which are short and some of which are written here in the book, history and culture of the city, while reading this novel you can learn a little learning about communism and the changes happening in the country. It is also a very cultural novel.
Leila is a musician, a piano player and music is a huge part of this book. She has been living in a very small bubble of communism and luxury until she meets Tahir, when her bubble bursts.
There are plenty of genres here, like The Tobacconist, this covers historical fiction, music, politics, spying, communism, legends, love and friendship and a decent amount of corruption.
There were a few slower moments, especially in the beginning, but maybe that was me, I found it difficult to find more than a few minutes to read at a time when I started this novel, but later on I was able to enjoy the rest of this book. It is well paced, not fast, not slow, just right, while reading the parts with the music lessons and concerts I could imagine listening to the music while I was reading, the descriptions and details are perfect.
The interview with the author Ella Leya at the end of the book just adds to the storyline, as you learn a little about the author and her life/childhood. She does a wonderful job of writing in English, it is not her first language, so this is a feat in itself. She certainly shows her knowledge of music in the novel, which is explained at the end of the book in an interview
I can recommend this book to anyone wanting to enjoy some Soviet Azerbaijan history.
This book taught me a little about history in Soviet Azerbaijan, Baku in particular.
The next country we are visiting in the Read The World challenge is Belgium.
February 29, 2024
This book broke my heart then held it tight, as I wondered if the pieces would ever mend back together again. A captivating story of love, suffering, and politics, 'The Orphan Sky' is both an eye-opening look at the brutality of the communist regime, and a tale of passion and survival.
Set in 1980s Azerbaijan, life in the capital city Baku is rich in traditional culture but also constrained by Soviet rule. Leila is a gifted pianist and a law abiding junior party member, until she meets Tahir, a dissident artist, and begins to question everything she believed to be true.
This is a story of creativity, with lyrical writing interspersed with music and myth. I really enjoyed the scenes Leila and Tahir connected through music and painting, showing that creativity can bring light into the darkest times. And there are a lot of dark times in this novel - at times it's hard to read, but there's beauty in there too. The plot is compelling, although occasionally predictable, it had me fully engaged until the end. I didn't always agree with Leila's decisions, but I think the author the conveyed well the futility of personal choice in such a society. It's tough to know what you'd do in the same situation. The book felt well researched and I enjoyed learning about a culture that I previously knew very little about.
Set in 1980s Azerbaijan, life in the capital city Baku is rich in traditional culture but also constrained by Soviet rule. Leila is a gifted pianist and a law abiding junior party member, until she meets Tahir, a dissident artist, and begins to question everything she believed to be true.
This is a story of creativity, with lyrical writing interspersed with music and myth. I really enjoyed the scenes Leila and Tahir connected through music and painting, showing that creativity can bring light into the darkest times. And there are a lot of dark times in this novel - at times it's hard to read, but there's beauty in there too. The plot is compelling, although occasionally predictable, it had me fully engaged until the end. I didn't always agree with Leila's decisions, but I think the author the conveyed well the futility of personal choice in such a society. It's tough to know what you'd do in the same situation. The book felt well researched and I enjoyed learning about a culture that I previously knew very little about.
January 17, 2025
no quiero ser esa persona ni defender la urss ante lo indefendible pero...... de dónde sacan ciertos datos para este libro.......
January 29, 2025
not sure if there’s a plot — more a series of events that happen to a character. who is annoying and consistently rushes into decisions with no consideration. wish we could’ve sat with things a little more to truly feel their effect
June 9, 2024
Lacking narrative flow | I wish Leya had chosen to write her book in her native language and have it translated to English, there are so very many ways that the English is stilted or incorrect that it's hard to stay in the story, and instead of feeling Leila's experiences and perspective directly, it others her and creates a division between us. The example I gave my partner about the language issue: "How's the assignment going," he asked. "I've been working on it--" "I expect your report the following Tuesday. At four in the afternoon in my office." So, obviously it's clear what's meant, I'm not saying it's not readable, it's just jarring. An English first language speaker wouldn't have "the following" in that sentence. As these mistakes are throughout the book, it's hard to sink into. Add to that the fact that I really disliked the protagonist, and this just wasn't a particularly enjoyable read. She was selfish and childish and while I get that she was in awful circumstances in some cases, she made every selfish choice she could, and in every event she leaped to conclusions that let her feel she was a victim, even when she was victimizing others. I chose this for Azerbaijan for my Read Around the World challenge, it's too bad I read it immediately after an exceptional book from a neighboring country.
November 21, 2017
The protagonist of this novel, Leila, is a piano prodigy, and the way she sees the world and interacts with emotions is a bound up with poetry, Rachmaninoff, Mozart, and an artist's palette of colors.
There are snippets of songs, descriptions of rousing cantatos, and a sensibility that places Leila directly in the historical and mythical Azerbaijan as much as in the cold, stern reality of the Soviet Union.
Leila is a good little comrade, and everything looks bright for her. She's winning piano competitions, she has the attention of a handsome Komsomol officer, and she lives in a apartment full of beautiful things.
Little by little, all of this perfect life is revealed to be based on lies, and as she gets to know the stories and histories of those around her, Lelia will have to make a series of decisions about who to trust, who to betray, and who to love.
This is a gorgeous book. The prose is as lyrical as the music it describes. There is ugliness here, too, but I dare you to read this book and walk away without losing your heart to Lelia and Azerbaijan.
The author has a gift of describing clothing, food, and buildings that makes it all come alive (and makes me desperate to try Saffron Plov and Qutab with coriander yoghurt.)
There are snippets of songs, descriptions of rousing cantatos, and a sensibility that places Leila directly in the historical and mythical Azerbaijan as much as in the cold, stern reality of the Soviet Union.
Leila is a good little comrade, and everything looks bright for her. She's winning piano competitions, she has the attention of a handsome Komsomol officer, and she lives in a apartment full of beautiful things.
Little by little, all of this perfect life is revealed to be based on lies, and as she gets to know the stories and histories of those around her, Lelia will have to make a series of decisions about who to trust, who to betray, and who to love.
This is a gorgeous book. The prose is as lyrical as the music it describes. There is ugliness here, too, but I dare you to read this book and walk away without losing your heart to Lelia and Azerbaijan.
The author has a gift of describing clothing, food, and buildings that makes it all come alive (and makes me desperate to try Saffron Plov and Qutab with coriander yoghurt.)
April 29, 2024
i devoured this story: a young piano musician in Soviet Azerbaijan falls in love with a defector and anti-soviet boy. this book is written like a piano piece the words flowing into arpeggios and different speeds and notes it’s stunning!
January 24, 2024
DNF. I really wanted this book to be as good as the reviews but it moved at such a slow pace and the characters were not developed well. Just not the book for me.
September 13, 2025
Beautiful writing, but the plot was just so many sad and disastrous things. It just wasn't for me.
March 5, 2015
“The Orphan Sky adroitly marries Cold War history with intrigue and young love.”
During the 1970s in Azerbaijan, Leila is an adolescent musical prodigy. Her father is a successful and respected businessman and high-ranking member of the Communist Party. Her mother is a well-known physician. They live in a beautiful home in the city of Baku.
Leila’s classical piano skills are remarkable, and she is the greatest musical star of her community. She dreams of winning international piano competitions, bringing fame to her family and to the Soviet Union. The world is at her feet. All she needs to do is play by the rules of the Communist Party.
A local communist leader named Farhad, who loves Leila, assigns her to spy on a young man named Tahir who owns a record store. Tahir’s penchant for Western culture is at first unsettling to Leila. His abstract art, attraction to American jazz, and political discussions are all red flags for the good Communist spy.
Leila falls in love with Tahir, and she soon comes to realize that everything she has been told about the glory of the Soviet Union is a lie. She discovers that her nation punishes freedom of thought harshly and that millions of innocent people have become victims of injustice and corruption, sentenced to suffer miserably in Siberian gulags, including Tahir’s mother.
Leila discovers that her father and her best friend have done terrible things. She is forced into a loveless marriage with Farhad, from which there seems no escape. Leila’s life crumbles away, made dreadful by deceit, venality, and ubiquitous government control. Should she betray her country or her heart? Is there no escape?
The Orphan Sky is a gripping, forceful novel that compels the reader onward. Well written and edited, the colorful descriptions and poignant relationships are haunting. As visceral and exotic as any spy novel and as authentically convincing as The Kite Runner, The Orphan Sky adroitly marries Cold War history with intrigue and young love.
Reviewer Charles Weinblatt was born in Toledo, Ohio, in 1952. He is a retired university administrator. Mr. Weinblatt is the author of published fiction and nonfiction. His biography appears in the Marquis Who’s Who in America and Wikipedia. He is a reviewer for The New York Journal of Books.
During the 1970s in Azerbaijan, Leila is an adolescent musical prodigy. Her father is a successful and respected businessman and high-ranking member of the Communist Party. Her mother is a well-known physician. They live in a beautiful home in the city of Baku.
Leila’s classical piano skills are remarkable, and she is the greatest musical star of her community. She dreams of winning international piano competitions, bringing fame to her family and to the Soviet Union. The world is at her feet. All she needs to do is play by the rules of the Communist Party.
A local communist leader named Farhad, who loves Leila, assigns her to spy on a young man named Tahir who owns a record store. Tahir’s penchant for Western culture is at first unsettling to Leila. His abstract art, attraction to American jazz, and political discussions are all red flags for the good Communist spy.
Leila falls in love with Tahir, and she soon comes to realize that everything she has been told about the glory of the Soviet Union is a lie. She discovers that her nation punishes freedom of thought harshly and that millions of innocent people have become victims of injustice and corruption, sentenced to suffer miserably in Siberian gulags, including Tahir’s mother.
Leila discovers that her father and her best friend have done terrible things. She is forced into a loveless marriage with Farhad, from which there seems no escape. Leila’s life crumbles away, made dreadful by deceit, venality, and ubiquitous government control. Should she betray her country or her heart? Is there no escape?
The Orphan Sky is a gripping, forceful novel that compels the reader onward. Well written and edited, the colorful descriptions and poignant relationships are haunting. As visceral and exotic as any spy novel and as authentically convincing as The Kite Runner, The Orphan Sky adroitly marries Cold War history with intrigue and young love.
Reviewer Charles Weinblatt was born in Toledo, Ohio, in 1952. He is a retired university administrator. Mr. Weinblatt is the author of published fiction and nonfiction. His biography appears in the Marquis Who’s Who in America and Wikipedia. He is a reviewer for The New York Journal of Books.
December 3, 2016
3.5 stars for this one, but I'm rounding up to 4 because it was about a pianist and heavily features my favourite piece of piano music, which will always get my vote.
Apparently English is Leya's second language, but this is no impediment to graceful, lyrical prose. Her first language must be music! She writes so expressively, so colourfully and convincingly about musical language and performance; the imagery is quite wonderful in parts.
Set in Azerbaijan, it's a coming-of-age novel about a young girl who's set to fall out of love with communism and in love with a young artist who begins to open her eyes and pick his way into her heart. Strong themes - it's a tale of love, loss, betrayal, the brutality of communist rule and the kind of hypocrisy which closely shadows corruption.
The story drew me in. I'm not sure why I didn't love it in the end. I liked it very much and considered it a very worthwhile read, but something about the meanderings into the legends and the stories within the story, distanced me from the clutches of the plot and interfered with the fluency. I found it a little random in parts too, which affected my enjoyment a tad. I can't explain really. I'll sum up by saying that it's an intriguing read with some fine writing and a satisfying ending, but once I'd finished it, I moved on without a backward glance. Intellectually, I appreciated its merits. Just wish I'd FELT it more.
Apparently English is Leya's second language, but this is no impediment to graceful, lyrical prose. Her first language must be music! She writes so expressively, so colourfully and convincingly about musical language and performance; the imagery is quite wonderful in parts.
Set in Azerbaijan, it's a coming-of-age novel about a young girl who's set to fall out of love with communism and in love with a young artist who begins to open her eyes and pick his way into her heart. Strong themes - it's a tale of love, loss, betrayal, the brutality of communist rule and the kind of hypocrisy which closely shadows corruption.
The story drew me in. I'm not sure why I didn't love it in the end. I liked it very much and considered it a very worthwhile read, but something about the meanderings into the legends and the stories within the story, distanced me from the clutches of the plot and interfered with the fluency. I found it a little random in parts too, which affected my enjoyment a tad. I can't explain really. I'll sum up by saying that it's an intriguing read with some fine writing and a satisfying ending, but once I'd finished it, I moved on without a backward glance. Intellectually, I appreciated its merits. Just wish I'd FELT it more.
July 19, 2018
DNF. This was one of those books that held a lot of promise and ended with big disappointment. Based on the reviews I was expecting an emotional literary novel that touched on important historical events as seen through the eyes of a young woman coming of age in the face of monumentally difficult choices. That is a book I want to read. But unfortunately that was not this book. Or at least not a well-executed version of that book. It started out slow and the pace didn't change. I held with it as long as I could but at a certain point I had to accept that it wasn't going to get any better. The writing style was a bit juvenile, the characters were fairly undeveloped, and the story moved at a glacial pace. I just wasn't impressed. I gave it a two instead of a one because I think the book just needs polish, and the author needs experience. It's definitely not the worst thing I've ever read (even though I didn't finish), and it had potential. It just didn't live up to it.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
October 22, 2014
Review at: http://bookishgirlthings.tumblr.com/p...
Let me just start by saying that this book is beautifully written. It is historical fiction and tells the story of a girl that grew up on Soviet Azerbaijan. The main character, Leila, at the beginning of the book is a teenage piano prodigy and a proud daughter of the Communist Party. During the story she starts to question the truths she took for granted all her life. We see her struggle for the life she wants and we hope that in the ends she is victorious.
This book is also a love story. However, I didn't think it was one of the strongest points of the novel. At the beggining I was really enjoying it but I was not a fan of how it was handled.
In a nutshell, even though I found one or two problems with this story, I highly recommend it. It's not everyday we read about Azerbaijan and I definetly enjoyed learning more about this country.
Let me just start by saying that this book is beautifully written. It is historical fiction and tells the story of a girl that grew up on Soviet Azerbaijan. The main character, Leila, at the beginning of the book is a teenage piano prodigy and a proud daughter of the Communist Party. During the story she starts to question the truths she took for granted all her life. We see her struggle for the life she wants and we hope that in the ends she is victorious.
This book is also a love story. However, I didn't think it was one of the strongest points of the novel. At the beggining I was really enjoying it but I was not a fan of how it was handled.
In a nutshell, even though I found one or two problems with this story, I highly recommend it. It's not everyday we read about Azerbaijan and I definetly enjoyed learning more about this country.
January 21, 2015
The Orphan Sky intrigued me with its unusual setting in far off Azerbaijan and its unusual premise, an accomplished musician torn between her duty to the communist regime and loyalty to herself and her inner beliefs. The writing creates a vivid picture of the world inside the book, and the author reveals a story which tugs at the reader's heart--the oppressive control the Soviets had over creative artists and arts in a country rich with cultural heritage.
For most of us, our lives are privileged, free of the tyranny and fear which fills the world of The Orphan Sky. That's what makes works like this so important, so that we do not go through our lives not knowing, unaware of what tragedies have unfolded within our planet in recent decades. When we venture through a story like The Orphan Sky, we gain empathy and knowledge, which are essential to freedom and to the future. Thank you, Ella Leya, for sharing your story through fiction with the world.
For most of us, our lives are privileged, free of the tyranny and fear which fills the world of The Orphan Sky. That's what makes works like this so important, so that we do not go through our lives not knowing, unaware of what tragedies have unfolded within our planet in recent decades. When we venture through a story like The Orphan Sky, we gain empathy and knowledge, which are essential to freedom and to the future. Thank you, Ella Leya, for sharing your story through fiction with the world.
November 2, 2024
I am tempted by books set in places I’ve never read about, much less visited. Ella Leya’s The Orphan Sky is set in Baku, Azerbaijan in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Leila, the teenaged daughter of curiously wealthy parents, is working towards fame as a concert pianist when she is given an assignment to tail a suspicious person by her Komsomol leader. This assignment, taken to prove her dedication to the cause, is the turning point in Leila’s life. After this assignment, her charmed life rapidly loses its shine and she must endure tragedy after tragedy...
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type.
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type.
July 31, 2015
This is a really good book -- I've never read a book set in Azerbaijan before, and I enjoyed learning more about the country's Communist years and what it was like growing up in that era, torn between a love of country and a growing knowledge of the hypocrisy of that country's ruling class. I loved how themes from local folk tales were woven into the story, and loved seeing the main character's art (she is a brilliant pianist) through her eyes, even though I don't know much about classical music.
May 5, 2015
A decent read, but I'm afraid that it was nothing stellar. It smacked of YA, and overflowed with less-than-savory characters, including the protagonist. No matter how I tried, I could not force myself to like Leila Badalbeili. Ever the victim, she popped around the story, always acting in her own best interest. While the detail of her music was truly incredible (very impressive), and the dire details of Communism were eye-opening, I just could not wrap my heart around the story.
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