Banine Bücher

Die literarische Wiederentdeckung eines legendären Lebens Baku um 1900: Als Tochter eines Ölbarons wächst Banine in einer Welt voller Widersprüche auf. Die Großmutter: eine muslimische Matriarchin. Das Kindermädchen: eine engelsgleiche Deutsche. Heimlich liest sich Banine durch die Bibliothek ihrer Tante, während der Rest der Verwandtschaft kettenrauchend Poker spielt oder mit dem Mercedes über die einzige Allee Bakus rollt. Mit der Oktoberrevolution bricht diese Welt zusammen und Banine verliebt sich zum ersten Mal – ausgerechnet in den Bolschewiken, der ihre Familie enteignen soll. Doch um ihrem Vater die Flucht zu ermöglichen, heiratet Banine mit 15 Jahren einen Mann, den sie inbrünstig hasst. Am Ende flüchtet sie selbst in ein neues Leben: mit dem Orientexpress nach Paris.

“Every so often a voice emerges from the archive so vivid that it seems impossible that it should ever have been forgotten.” — Evening Standard A brilliantly witty memoir telling the story of a young woman's determined struggle to realize her dreams of “freedom and fantasy” in 1920s Paris, appearing in English for the first time Told with vivacious wit and a lust for life, Parisian Days is a bittersweet portrayal of youthful dreams, and the elusive search for happiness. The Orient Express hurtles towards the promised land, and Banine is free for the first time in her life. She has fled her ruined homeland and unhappy forced marriage for a dazzling new future in Paris. Now she cuts her hair, wears short skirts, mingles with Russian émigrés, Spanish artists, writers and bohemians in the 1920's beau monde - and even contemplates love. But soon she finds that freedom brings its own complications. As her family's money runs out, she becomes a fashion model to survive. And when a glamorous figure from her past returns, life is thrown further into doubt. Banine has always been swept along by the forces of history. Can she keep up with them now? Part memoir, part social history, Parisian Days reads like a novel and feels timely and relevant. Originally published in the 1940s, this will be the first-ever English translation.