The mother's field by Tsingiz Aitmatof

The mother's fieldThe book I'm going to talk to you about is a novel called "the mother's field". It was written by the Russian writer

Tsingiz Aitmatof in 1973 and it refers to events that happened during the time of the war between the Russians and the Germans. It is considered as one of the masterpieces of the Russian literature.

When someone reads the book for the first time, he'll immediately feel the sadness and the loneliness of the World War II. The writer introduces us to his

story by putting himself in the position of a woman, Tolcanoi, who is sitting on a rock in her field and is talking to the field on a warm day in the fall. Tolcanoi comes to this field about the same time every year during the plowing season and talks to the field about her lonely life because

she has nobody else to talk to about her sufferings. She only has a nephew but he is too young to listen.

Some Fall, like every other Fall, Tolcanoi comes to her field and as usual, the field offers her a rock to sit on. Then the field asks her to consider this day a special one and talk about the whole story of her life since the first time she was brought to this field till the time she lost her husband and her three children in the war.

Then Tolcanoi starts her story by saying she was brought to the field when she was still a little child and that at that first time she was given something to eat for not to cry. She continues by saying how she grew up to become a beautiful girl and how she met her husband Suvancool. Suvancool was a tall and strong man. She continues with

how she gave birth to her three children, how her son met his wife – her daughter in law – and how difficult but beautiful her life was before the war started. Then she talks in length about the war. She talks about how the war deprived her of her husband, her three sons, and her daughter in law and how miserable her life was during the war.

At the end of her story, the field thanks her and asks her to come again next year. She answers "if I live next year, I'll come to see and talk to you again". She leaves the field by saying good bye.

The whole book is about this one day's talk or story telling.

Nearly the entire book is very emotional - a drama - and when somebody reads it he is expected to be moved and cry.

There are several heroes involved in the story of the book. Some of them are Tolcanoi (the mother), Suvancool

(the father), Beseblek, Dizak, and Kasin (the three brothers), Aliman (the daughter in law) and several others.

All the heroes, and especially the family, are united as a fist and they always help each other.

The writer writes in direct

speech, speaking as Tolcanoi and this helps in making the story more real.

Last, I would like to mention I liked this book a lot because it describes the sufferings of the war though the life of an ordinary family.

I would suggest to my fellow students to read this book that is classic literature, to learn how terrible the World War II was.

The cover page of the book in the Greek translation: