The first compelling voice in literary fiction to emerge from the Chechen War.
I Am a Chechen offers a lyrical fusion of exotic legends, stories and memories of Chechnya: a land of wondrous beauty, site of genocides past and present, and the author's ancestral home.
Haunted by memories of the land he deserted, Sadulaev tells the stories of those who stayed behind. He brings back to life his friends -- revisiting their first loves, their passion for rock music, their quests for martyrdom. And he immerses us in the intoxicating beauty of his homeland's mountains, blossoms and the flocks of migratory swallows that fill its skies.
I Am a Chechen is an intensely personal journey through the carnage of the war, exploring the pain, the challenge, and above all the meaning of being a Chechen.