The Spotted Dog Running Along the Seashore

Chingiz Aitmatov’s tales are first and foremost about humanity—and about what happens when it is absent. About nature, and the animal world tightly intertwined with the world of people—dependent and vulnerable to violence and cruelty, yet generously rewarding those who are gentle with it, those who protect and take care of such people. About the fact that the moral measure of a person becomes забота for the world, not for oneself—care for the younger generation, the ability to sacrifice oneself for a child’s life, and thereby bless the further life of one’s lineage.