Ali and Nino

So I recently finished the book Ali and Nino written under the pen name Kurban Said. It is a somewhat cheesy love story of two young teens, but it is a fascinating look at the wide variety of ethnicities and cultures present here in the Caucasus. The novel is set during the time of WWI, and is the story of a young Azeri boy who falls in love with a beautiful young Georgian girl.

It tells the story both of Ali's Muslim faith and Nino's Christian upbringing, and it even shows some of the historic tensions between the people of Azerbaijan and Armenia. I would recommend the book for those interested in the various cultures of this part of the world, or anyone who happens to also be a hopeless romantic.