r/bookclub • u/Greatingsburg Vampires Suck (Armand Hater #1) • Jun 02 '26
Azerbaijan - Ali & Nino, Days in the Caucasus [Discussion 2/3] Read the World: Azerbaijan-Days in the Caucasus by Banine: Part 1 Chapter 9 to Part 2 Chapter 5
Welcome to our second discussion of Days in the Caucasus by Banine!
Revolution, requisitions and the romanticism of communism…. this section has it all! Imagine the whiplash of becoming a multi-millionaire at 13 and losing it all moments later to geopolitical events completely out of your control.
Useful Links:
- Schedule
- Marginalia
- Wikipedia: Caucasian days (watch out for spoilers!)
Join us next week for Part 2 Chapter 6 - End!
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u/Greatingsburg Vampires Suck (Armand Hater #1) Jun 02 '26
2- What do you know about the October Revolution? Have you learnt anything new through this author’s memoir?
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u/tomesandtea Viceroy of Verity | 🐉🧠 Jun 03 '26
I knew very little about this time period and region going in, and I've learned so much. (Sometimes I think that memoirs and fictitious accounts of history end up teaching me more than a standard nonfiction book because the personalization of the events helps it stick better in my memory.) One thing I learned from the author's account here was the seizure of personal property and belongings (even clothes!) in favor of state control. I had no idea of the extent to which this occurred!
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u/nicehotcupoftea World Reader Leader | 🎃🧠🥇 Jun 03 '26
I knew very little about this period other than it led to the creation of the Soviet Union. I've always been a bit fuzzy when reading about the Bolsheviks, but little by little I expand my knowledge. This perspective from a neighbouring country really shows the dramatic changes that arrived.
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u/Coffee_fuel 📚Bookclub Boffin📚 Jun 03 '26
The October Revolution, I know the basics and perhaps a little more—but I knew almost nothing about this region! It's been very interesting. I was a little surprised at how easily Britain seemed to give up their interest in such an oil rich area. But it was far from home and they may have been weary, so soon after WW1 ended. I think I will have to read up on it!
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u/lazylittlelady Poetry Patron Jun 04 '26
Well, definitely we got a bit of a peripheral view with the White Russians fleeing and hoping this is just a phase! Some of her relatives also hold that view but, of course, we know better how long Azerbaijan was held hostage by the USSR.
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u/Greatingsburg Vampires Suck (Armand Hater #1) Jun 02 '26
3- Many of Banine’s thoughts centre on being in love. Why do you think this is at the forefront of her mind? What qualities does she look for in a man, and what does she find repulsive in a man?
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u/tomesandtea Viceroy of Verity | 🐉🧠 Jun 03 '26
I've been wondering about this. I think it has to do with a few things. First, she is the youngest, with several older sisters who she witnesses going through adolescence, courtship, and marriage - she wants to be like her sisters and this is a big way she can try to connect herself to their experiences.
Also, she lives in a culture where women are often married off quite young, so she probably is accustomed to thinking of marriage and relationships as a real and looming part of her young life, possibly almost the only real goal for her future. Related to that, I think the tension between old and new, traditional and modern, ways of living puts romance and love at the forefront of her curious mind. Instead of settling for an arranged marriage, it is possible she could have a say in choosing her husband and maybe even get the chance to fall in love first, but this must have felt like a novel experience during this time and also not guaranteed.
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u/Coffee_fuel 📚Bookclub Boffin📚 Jun 03 '26 edited Jun 03 '26
She's bored and has always felt unloved. Lacking human connection, a true confidant. Her major escape is literature, where romantic love is often elevated above all else—and something that lends itself to her idly, yet passionately fantasizing about her favourite subjects. These loves are a major diversion for her. Her other escape is also the thought of leaving her current condition through marriage.
Even Amina comes across sometimes as half symbol to her, a way for her to fantasize about escaping and living a different life.
The way she talked about how falling in love became a collective activity for her and the sisters she normally did not get along with also seemed more of a way for her to connect with them. It didn't seem (to me) like the man's qualities truly mattered that much.
At most, I would say that she feels consistent in the wish that they would whisk her away from life as she knows it and love her just as devotedly.
But beyond all that, she also simply has a very romantic disposition.
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u/lazylittlelady Poetry Patron Jun 04 '26
I think there wasn’t another option for a woman of her class than marriage. So, combined with all the literature she consumed and the influences of her sisters and cousins, love was like the only acceptable thing to fix your attention to.
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u/Greatingsburg Vampires Suck (Armand Hater #1) Jun 02 '26
5- Had you heard of trichotillomania (hair-pulling disorder) before? Were you surprised that the author included this information about her relatives (and herself) in the book?
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u/tomesandtea Viceroy of Verity | 🐉🧠 Jun 03 '26
Yes, I'd heard of it. As a teacher for about 20 years now, I've seen so many different things that students struggle with! I'm not surprised at the details being included, as Banine seems to be very frank and speak her mind about pretty much everything!
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u/nicehotcupoftea World Reader Leader | 🎃🧠🥇 Jun 03 '26
I actually have heard of it, just one of the many manifestations of anxiety in humans. I thought it was wonderful that the author shared this.
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u/Coffee_fuel 📚Bookclub Boffin📚 Jun 03 '26
I had. I was surprised in the sense that it's relatively rare and so it's always a little unexpected, but it's also just the sort of unusual detail that paints a vivid picture and I feel would pique the interest of the crowd she's writing for. Occasionally, I've felt that she leaned a little into depicting some of these people (including herself) more as quirky characters for a reader to marvel and exclaim at. And that's how she described the hair-pulling. But it may be that it's partially a defense mechanism, along with her levity—because she's repeatedly brought up some very tough topics. She doesn't really shy away from it.
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u/lazylittlelady Poetry Patron Jun 04 '26
It was really honest and a reminder of how stressful these events really were. And it was also a sort of rebellion against their femininity as hair was so important to their aura and respectability!
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u/Greatingsburg Vampires Suck (Armand Hater #1) Jun 02 '26
7- What do you think will happen next? Will Banine marry Jamil, or will she flee with a Russian Bolshevik paramour like her relatives are prone to do?
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u/Coffee_fuel 📚Bookclub Boffin📚 Jun 03 '26
From the little she's mentioned about an unwanted marriage at the beginning and how distasteful she seems to find talking about him, I assume he's the guy she was married to against her wishes. 🫤
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u/Greatingsburg Vampires Suck (Armand Hater #1) Jun 02 '26
8- Any favorite quotes, questions or other remarks?
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u/nicehotcupoftea World Reader Leader | 🎃🧠🥇 Jun 03 '26
I was horrified with the thought of an official coming into my home, judging it to be too big for my needs, and ordering another set of people to move in. Ok you now have to have a military band move in to your house!
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u/tomesandtea Viceroy of Verity | 🐉🧠 Jun 03 '26
This was so shocking! My head was spinning just reading about it!
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u/lazylittlelady Poetry Patron Jun 04 '26
That’s the USSR for you!
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u/nicehotcupoftea World Reader Leader | 🎃🧠🥇 Jun 04 '26
Yes! This book really showed us what it was like.
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u/Coffee_fuel 📚Bookclub Boffin📚 Jun 03 '26
I really wonder, just like her, what went through everyone's head, leaving Banine alone in Baku while they left for Paris... A part of me wondered if it was because she seemed to be so much closer to her aunt. A more cynical side if it was because of Jamil's interest, since Jamil seems to be their best chance of getting the father out of prison.
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u/Greatingsburg Vampires Suck (Armand Hater #1) Jun 06 '26
My theory is that they really just didn't care enough about her to even think of her opinion on the matter. The stepmother seems like a nice person, but not one that cares about Banine's opinion. She's basically invisible to her.
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u/Coffee_fuel 📚Bookclub Boffin📚 Jun 06 '26
I really find the stepmother a little unreadeable, because of that! They just seem not to have had any relationship, at all.
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u/Greatingsburg Vampires Suck (Armand Hater #1) Jun 02 '26
4- What actions of compassion have you noticed in this section?
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u/tomesandtea Viceroy of Verity | 🐉🧠 Jun 03 '26
The one that popped out to me was the quilt that her aunt put over her when she came home cold and exhausted from a prison visit. Also, the neighbors rescuing them from the attacks and sharing the lentils!
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u/nicehotcupoftea World Reader Leader | 🎃🧠🥇 Jun 03 '26
Oh yes, I couldn't think of anything! Glad you remembered those.
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u/lazylittlelady Poetry Patron Jun 04 '26
Their Armenian neighbors for sure! Also all the mourners who came for Musa’s funeral were well fed for a week.
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u/Greatingsburg Vampires Suck (Armand Hater #1) Jun 02 '26
6- Do you think Gregory and Marie are honest people? Do you think they like Gulnar and Banine for who they are, or do you think there were calculations and ulterior motives behind befriending them?
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u/Coffee_fuel 📚Bookclub Boffin📚 Jun 03 '26
They certainly seemed to enjoy the opportunity to shape their young minds.
Gregory in particular, left me with a negative impression.
Maybe he partially sought them out because he missed his child and being a teacher, and he wanted to learn more about the locals. Maybe some of the people staying there were tasked with befriending the family, if possible, to ease the temporary cohabitation—the same way the commissar's wife also eased the transition when they moved in their apartment.
But this is a 40 something years old man. He still decided to spend at least half of all his days crushing on and having light sexual relations with a 16? years old, "exotic" "oriental" girl. The way he talks about Russian vs Caucasian girls—we've all heard the same song before, with various nationalities swapped in and out. Banine also fails to describe him building any sort of casual relationship with his fellow adult revolutionaries there (including the schoolmistress, who is an idealistic, self-sacrificing, educated woman—the sort of person he claims to admire). Though to be fair, she may simply not have cared to look—outside of the 25 years old.
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u/tomesandtea Viceroy of Verity | 🐉🧠 Jun 03 '26
I'd like to think/hope that Gregory and Marie had honest intentions in the sense that they truly believed in the cause/system they were promoting, even if they were going about it in a manipulative way. This may be me just being too optimistic. At least they were kind instead of harsh, judgmental/prejudiced, etc. although I suppose that could've been a purposeful tactic to indoctrinate the girls and push their agenda. I did find it uncomfortable that Gregory took advantage of Gulnar's interest in him (or men in general) when she was so young and he was well into an adult life - it felt like a power imbalance at best and potentially predatory depending on his motives and the extent of his behavior (as we are hearing it from the memory of a child who admittedly closed her eyes and made assumptions lol).
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u/lazylittlelady Poetry Patron Jun 04 '26
Honestly trying to turn them to Communism and shaking off their culture, religion and language…hmmm. Well, you take some sheltered, impressionable young teenagers and try to indoctrinate them against their own family and use them against their community. Well, Banine was looking for a bit of rebellion and there they were!
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u/Greatingsburg Vampires Suck (Armand Hater #1) Jun 02 '26
1- Who was the most outrageous, who was the most tragic, and who was the most hilarious family member in this section in your opinion?