The Little Soldier

The great Kyrgyz writer tells the story of a five-year-old boy who sees his father falling in the movie. The naive pride of the little boy and his longing for the father he has never known are entangled with the tragedy and absurdity of war.

The great Kyrgyz writer tells the story of a five-year-old boy who sees his father falling in the movie. The naive pride of the little boy and his longing for the father he has never known are entangled with the tragedy and absurdity of war. In spite of the accurate descriptions of explosions and falling soldiers, Aitmatov describes in his beautiful, poetical language the mentality and the atmosphere in a small village, in a community of shepherds. A touching and moving story, short and concise, but full of insight and depth.

Aitmatov was born on December 12th, 1928, in Taalas, Kyrgyzstan. He lost his father at the age of 10; a victim of Stalin’s purges, his father was executed as an “enemy” in 1938. As the eldest son of the family, Aitmatov took over the responsibility of helping his mother to bring up his youngest brother and two sisters. During World War II, Aitmatov was a hard-working teenager helping his family to get by in the small village of Sheker. He graduated as a veterinary surgeon, studying first in Dshambul and later at the Agricultural High School in Frunze (now Bishkek - the capital of Kyrgyzstan). Aitmatov published his first short-stories in 1952. He had been working for four years as a vet when he decided to write. He applied for special training (from 1956 to 1958) at the High School for Literature in Moscow, from which he graduated as a famous writer, thanks to his hard work and great talent. His works have been translated into 150 languages worldwide! This story was