Readings shape who we become and it is highly
relevant to the youth, who are the driving force of a society. What we read as teenagers
stays with us. Hence, the list of 10 books recommended for the youth to read by
Didar Amantay, a well-known Kazakh writer, on AdebiPortal.kz (LiteraturePortal) is worth a discussion. Luckily, I
read almost all of these books when I was young and I will take the liberty of
writing my opinion on each book very shortly.
1.
1. The Path of Abay by Muhktar Auezov
The book sheds light on
the life of Abay Kunanbayev, a great Kazakh poet, writer and philosopher, and
also the culture, traditions and wisdom of our ancestors. I remember being very
surprised to read how any stranger-travellers could visit any auyl (village) and every house in that auyl would be honoured to host them.
This hospitality and other interesting aspects of the Kazakhs’ lives in the 19th
century written in the book, endeavour to transmit the cherished values of the
steppe people.
2.
2. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
The epic novel
chronicles two Franco-Russian conflicts and tells us the stories of people
while studying moral aspects of human beings. At the age of 19, I was very
interested in the love story line in the book. As it was in my case, this book
taught me how to set priorities; not to be fooled by men like Mr. Kuragin, but
see the true personality behind the unpretentiousness in gentlemen like Mr.
Bezuhov.
3. 3. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
This is a love story of
enamoured Gatsby and mercantile Daisy. He lived under the delusion that money
would buy him love and make him happy. Fitzgerald expounded explicitly that the
pursuit of illusion leads to tragedy: "The whole burden of Gatsby is the loss
of those illusions that give such colour to the world that you don’t care
whether things are true or false so long as they partake of the magical glory."
4. Demons by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Some youngsters may
perceive Dostoevsky’s work to be very depressing but it is so because “Demons”
is a bleak prophecy of what the world will be like if we continue to sustain
demons within us.
5. 5. The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
Many teenagers will find this book
insightful. It is about a 16 years old Holden who was born in an easy
circumstances, but criticizes the values and visions of that elite world.
Although very smart and discerning, he struggles to find his place in this
life. One thing to mention is that this book should be read before one is over
20, otherwise the book may sound very childish.
These
are the first five book recommendations I can agree on. Not only these novels
are historically, culturally informative and psychologically perspicacious,
they also help to raise social consciousness in the youth. It is imperative
that people read these books when still young, because as Nikolay Vsevolodovich
(character from “Demons”) says: "It seems, in fact, as though the second
half of a man's life is usually made up of nothing but the habits he has
accumulated during the first half."
To be continued...
