Farewell, Gulsary!

“Farewell, Gulsary!” is a story about the fate and inner tragedy of the main character, Tananbai, a Kyrgyz peasant. Before the reader unfolds his whole complicated yet honest life: he does not lose faith or his love of life, accepts even the most severe trials, and achieves difficult victories. It was the years of deprivation and struggle that hardened his character, strengthening him on the path of goodness and justice. For a long time, a dun pacing horse, Gulsary, was by Tananbai’s side—its broad chest “trustingly opened to the free steppe wind.” It is no accident that Aitmatov placed the horse’s name in the title: the author sensed a resonance in the nature of a person and his faithful companion—both share nobility and devotion, straightforwardness and swiftness, courage without looking back and selflessness.