Chingiz Huseynov and his "Fatal Fatali"

Author: VK
On the 200th anniversary of the birth of Mirza Fatali Akhundov, writer Chingiz Huseynov has presented his novel "Fatal Fatali" - a book about a foreigner in an Empire. The story takes place in the Caucasus, Russia, Western Europe and the Ottoman and Persian empires in the XIX century. The Russian officer of Turkic origins and Azerbaijani writer Mirza Fatali Akhundov is witnessing the confrontation of three empires in the Caucasus.

"When I was writing this novel, and I began it in the late 1970s," Huseynov says,"I had a feeling that the time will come when this figure will be 'realized', in a good as well as a bad sense. And the time has come. Paradoxically, on the one hand, he was the greatest cultural figure, one can even call him the founder of the Azerbaijani popular realist language (because of his plays, which are written in popular Azerbaijani), on the other hand - he was a philosopher. He worked for many years in the office of the governor of the Caucasus, was promoted to the rank of colonel and fought for union with Russia, realizing that it would benefit Azerbaijan to be in an alliance with Russia and not Iran. His "forecast" is still valuable – today we see how, thanks to it, Azerbaijan became independent in the course of the February and October revolutions and the year 1991. There are 6,000 ethnic groups in the world, and there are more numerous ethnic groups than the Azerbaijanis. But Azerbaijan has its own state and only due to the fact that it was once included in the framework of the Russian Empire. There were many positive and negative aspects associated with this, as we all understand, and as Akhundov understood.
Today, there is an ambiguous attitude towards Akhundov. In the Soviet period he was represented as progressive and entirely positive. I portrayed him as a tragic figure because there were moments in his life and work associated with the era. He sometimes did not do what he wanted. Sometimes what he did was not in favour of Azerbaijan. He was an atheist, and in the XIX century to be an atheist ... I, too, for years considered myself an atheist, I even admired his atheism, because Salman Rushdie, who was persecuted for being an atheist, was so inferior to Akhundov, when we look at what he rejected... But he rejected not religions, but as I now understand - the interpretation of religions. Because there is a huge difference between the interpretation of a religion and a religion itself. A great number of the ills of Islam come from false interpretations of the Koran. The Koran is the greatest book, but when misinterpreted it becomes a very different book. In Soviet times it was stressed that he was against Islam, but in fact he became an atheist under the influence of the French utopians. What else is he criticized for? For having supported the reform of the Arabic alphabet. But in this regard he is also judged rather primitively. People used to have only "black" and "white" in the Soviet years. The situation is the same today and even worse than during the Soviet era."

Speaking about the work of Huseynov, a representative of the World Azerbaijani Congress, Manaf Agayev, stressed that "Academician Chingiz Huseynov in his literary, research and journalistic activities has always been occupied with problems of the constant search for truth. He generously shares his original ideas with readers, inviting them to look for a solution to the complex problems of existence together. His books are appealing not only because of their depth and honesty, but also because of their wonderful literary form, which reduces the path of the writer to the hearts of readers. The language of his works is incredible. One can easily understand that by reading the "Azerbaijan Congress" newspaper, on the pages of which he regularly publishes his articles, critical notes and essays.
One of the greatest writers of our people, Chingiz Huseynov started his creative career as a poet. Many were astonished by the amazing depth and common wisdom of the author, which was so incompatible with his young age. He explored life based on antiquated traditions and love of his fatherland, where he for the first time felt the beauty of his native land and the beauty of the common man. We will always cherish his high moral responsibility to the people and the future. All his work confirms the truth that a great talent, as soon as he becomes stronger, inevitably outreaches the borders of his nation, and finds a place in the common human culture. Already the very first works of Chingiz Gasanovich attracted the attention of his readers with their deep psychological insight and lyricism, not only in his native Azerbaijan, but also on the vast territory of the Soviet Union. His talent grew in front of his readers with each short story and book and reached the hearts and minds of admirers of his literature. His sparkling talent and great life experience have given us a wonderful writer, who in a difficult turning point in the history of our nation has given us strength through honorable service to his native land and loyalty to Azerbaijan and Russia. An astonishingly intelligent man, he is a symbol of greatness and talent of the Azerbaijani people, their spirituality and culture. Despite being very busy, he is a member of the central council of the All-Russian Azerbaijani Congress and actively participates in public life and promotes the literature of his people in Russia as well as worldwide and facilitates the unity of our fellow citizens, friendship and cooperation between the peoples of Azerbaijan and Russia. "
Commenting on the relevance of the research of Huseynov, Kazbek Sultanov, a Doctor of Philology working at the Institute of World Literature, said: "There are figures in world literature who are always relevant in the Caucasus and are always ahead of their times. Akhundov was one of these powerful figures. It is a resounding name for the Azerbaijanis and a figure of All-Caucasian importance. I conducted research in the archives and found out that in the Kumyk language in Dagestan there is a lot written about Akhundov as a playwright and social activist, not mentioning his service in the governor's office. Returning back to the book about Akhundov means to return to its author. I just cannot skip this part... Talking about the very essence of years of reading and re-examining the texts of Chingiz Gasanovich, I can say that there are writers once found for a nation. Something has been successfully discovered, a name became famous, but later, despite any changes to the genre, the themes, titles and characters remain recognizable. It is like cooled lava: at first it moves, but then it freezes, although books continue to come out. And there are writers who are constantly expanding their horizons. Not even to mention the national importance of his work (of course, he is an Azerbaijani writer), Chenghis Gasanovich today is the most dynamic writer on the creative level. Each new text, each new novel is a key to be found. He is so unpredictable, so unexpected. Every time I read "Muhammad, Mamed, Mamish" it seems as if it's for the first time. Stylistic innovation ... There is no modern writer who would be as generous with innovations in composition, structure and semantic aspects. Complex composite solutions of novels ... The novel "Family Secrets" is very social and philosophical, associated with the problems of the social life, sustained in a sound realistic manner, but if you take the book "Muhammad, Mamed, Mamish" and his later novels, then you will see a different world. For instance, the last novel about the Prophet Muhammad. It is a very complex topic, unexpected for all of his readers. This topic, the atmosphere of the book would require seclusion, even for many years. There are no insignificant issues in the life of a prophet, every nuance, every detail are important... God forbid being wrong or inaccurate, since it would cause an obvious reaction. However, he has perfectly solved this problem. This writer never stops. I think this is a rare case in literature. He does not exploit his previous achievements."

Marat Kalandarov, president of the International Association of Writers and Publicists (Latvia) presented a chart of the European Union to Huseynov. He said that "the publications we publish in Riga and Paris are distributed in 40 countries. They are sold in stores, they are read, and we receive a lot of letters from readers starting with New Zealand and ending with Canada. Our editorial staff have received many letters in which readers from different countries asked us the same question: "Could you please tell us in your publications about the Azerbaijani-Armenian tragedy and answer the question of who is to blame for this?" In Europe, I have not found a good writer, because readers demanded that the answer to this question not be given by a public figure or a journalist working for a certain publication, but by an independent writer. In Europe, I have not found such writers. I came to Moscow and asked my friend to tell me the name of a writer who will be able to write something for our magazine on the subject. That is how we came to the hospitable home of Chingiz Gasanovich. We spent the whole evening talking about various topics. And in the end I said: "I need material on your, Azerbaijani, point of view on this subject. Try to write something!" I thought it would take him a very long time to finish something, because it is a terrible subject, but then our team received his material. When I read it (and I'm just the editor-in-chief of "The Writer and the World" journal), I immediately ordered it to be printed. When the issue came out we received responses from all around the world. The Ambassador of Armenia to France found me and said that we should give a word also to an Armenian writer. Some time passed and I received materials from one Armenian writer. When I compared these two materials, I saw something incompatible in terms of literature. The Azerbaijani author appeared to be an intelligent person and a wonderful writer in his work. At the same time, the material of the Armenian author presented only one point of view, it was full of bile and bitterness, and I dhave not found any intelligence in it. That is why, as I said, we have published the work of the Azerbaijani writer in the magazine and newspaper, while the work of the Armenian writer is still unpublished. Many months have passed, but one cannot answer in such a form and with such bile. One has to be a writer and an intelligent, thoughtful man, like your compatriot is. It caused a great reaction, especially in the EU (and besides that, I am the head of the World Writers' Organization and the vice-president of the European Union of Culture and Arts). The material was noticed even in the EU. Just several days ago I was in Paris and told them that the Azerbaijani writer was having his birthday, and that the EU must somehow mark this event. I just talked to the President of the European Union of Culture and Arts, and told him that we are going to present a chart of the European Union and the International Association of Writers and Publicists for his outstanding service. It is written in three languages, including Russian: "For outstanding achievements in literature and journalism." This chart bears the emblem of the European Union and the signature of the President of the European Union of Culture and Arts."

Musicologist, Doctor of Arts, Rauf Farkhadov said that he would chose as an epigraph to the work of Huseynov the words of the German writer Novalis: "One must be proud of pain. Pain is the memory of our highest purpose on earth. Farhhadov said that "the most important role in the novels of Chingiz Huseynov is played by a poignant sense of pain – a role more important than the content, structures, forms, even literary time and space. I remember the pain I felt when I was reading "Fatali", when it was published for the first time. Speaking from a purely musicological position, I would like to be nostalgic and say that I read Chingiz Huseynov like a mugam. This is a variant structure, which is constantly exposed to improvisational development. Chingiz Gasanovich can be read from the standpoint of  my field of research. I am dealing with radical avant-garde music, and if you structure the work of Chingiz Gasanovich based on this discipline you can read it on top of the meaning, content and the text itself, following and constantly observing what he does with language – and it is amazing. That is how the sound works in mugam. On the one hand, there is a feeling of absolute improvisation in the style of mugam, the unpredictability and variability of the texts of Chingiz Huseynov. The same mugam motif is always "played" through the multi-layered, polar and multi-tiered structures of his works. I have a feeling that his texts can be read from any line or page, or even from a point or a blank page. If you have noticed, the novels of Chingiz Gasanovich have many "gaps." They are purely mugam "spaces", where the sound hangs in silence – here the word hangs in silence. On the other hand, Chenghis Gasanovich is the most avant-garde writer in Azerbaijani culture, because of the way he works with the structure of the rhythm, words, literary time and space, because of how he organizes, assembles, shuffles and constructs serial general rows, and because of how his whole structure undergoes improvisational restructuring from a musical perspective. Being a musician, I do not read works by Chingiz Gasanovich as literature. It is real music for me. What I learned for myself from all the novels of Chingiz Gasanovich and just from communicating with him is that we should say "enemy" not "villain," "sick" not "wretched," "madman" not "sinner." For me, this is the essence of the novels of Chingiz Gasanovich."