The Path of Abai (Mukhtar Auezov)

The novel follows Abai from childhood to death: his conflict with his father Kunanbai, his growth as a poet and his search for a better path for his people.

It paints a vast picture of the 19th-century Kazakh steppe — migrations, weddings, aitys, tribal feuds and customs. Auezov worked on it for about twenty years.

The Path of Abai won the Lenin Prize in 1959 and has been translated into Russian, English, French, Turkish and many other languages. It is the work that introduced Kazakh literature to the world.