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The Man on the Rails

Author	Rovshan Abdullaoglu
Original title	Relslər üzərinə uzanmış adam
Country	Azerbaijan
Language	Azeri
Genre	Historical fiction Drama Classic Psychological
Publisher	Gadim Gala Publishing House

The Man on the Rails — is a psychological novel by Azerbaijani writer Rovshan Abdullaoglu published in 2017. To write this book, the authorwent to Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2016, traveling to different cities, including Srebrenica. Here, he visited the graves of victims of the 1995 genocide and also met surviving witnesses. This research formed the basis for the plot of the novel.

Rovshan Abdullaoglu is also the author of other highly popular novels, including This City is Empty, which a became a best-seller in 2016-2018. Overall, 27 books by Rovshan Abdullaoglu have been published so far.

International Book Awards

In 2020, The Man on the Rails was awarded a gold medal in the category "Fiction/Culture" at the international book contest Reader's Favorite.

The book was evaluated by the literary organization Readers' Favorit according to 5 categories (appearance, plot, development, formatting, marketability), scored a maximum of 5 points in each category, and was thus awarded the “five stars” distincion.

Kirkus magazine rated the novel among the best independent publications; a review of the book in a special issue of the print magazine (July 1st, 2020). Less than 10% of Indie authors are selected for this honor.

Publication and translation

The novel was first published in 2017 in Baku by the Gadim Gala Publishing House in Azerbaijani. The book had 400 pages (60x84). The first print of the book was sold out in 2 weeks. Until 2020, the novel was republished 8 times in Azerbaijan. It was bestseller in 2017-2019.

In 2018, the work was translated into English, and an electronic version was posted on the sales platform Amazon.com.

Book description

“A terrifying red train was speeding along the rails. That train, which passes by here daily, seemed so sinister to me now. For it was rushing toward me...”

The life paths of two strangers, both of whom have decided to commit suicide by train, cross on the iron rails. They are looking for a way out of life's dilemmas and see no reason why they should continue living. Their lives are approaching the final station; they are waiting for the death train.

These rails in Canada take the reader back to the past when the protagonists haven’t been born yet. The beautiful and stubborn Serbian woman, Adriana, comes to Mostar to write an article about the rights of Serbs being violated in the Balkan Peninsula. Her prejudiced views change when she gets to know Mostar and her good-natured and intelligent guide. Despite herself, Adriana, who was raised with hatred for the Bosnians, falls in love with a man from this “hostile” nation. Her fascinating life story reflects the struggle on the way to one’s deeper self, which unfolds against the background of love, selflessness, betrayal, and the horror of the Srebrenica massacre. Who will win in this struggle?

Contents

The main storyline of the work covers the life stories of the two protagonists, Ted and Farouk, who meet on the railway tracks where both intend to commit suicide.

Ted, the first to arrive on the tracks, is a writer suffering from writer’s block. He has a rather peculiar idea of the meaning of life, love and literature (for example, he does not like Shakespeare). Ted's carefree childhood in Canada had been ended by his mother's sudden death. A few years pass, and a tragedy takes place on the rails where he plays with his brother, taking the life of the latter. Spending every day blaming himself, feeling guilty about his brother's death, Ted finds no peace. He seeks out the most famous psychotherapists to restore his mental balance, but all in vain. Finally, one fateful day – by bitter chance, his birthday – he decides to kill himself, choosing the rails where his misfortunes began as the instrument of self-destruction. But on these very rails, he meets another young man, Farouk, who also intends to end his life. This encounter suddenly changes the fates of both.

With Farouk entering the scene, the author is taken back to the 1990s, a period marked by serious political conflicts on the Balkan Peninsula, before Farouk was born. A young, beautiful, talented and stubborn Serbian journalist named Adriana comes to Mostar to write an article about the violation of Serbian rights on the Balkan Peninsula and the pressure exerted on them by Muslim Bosnians. She does so at the behest of her father, a politician with extremely chauvinistic views.

She is recommended a guide named Amin, a Bosnian. A kind and friendly man, Amin lives side by side with Serbs and Croats, and has a warm relationship with all nations. He believes that the historical contradictions are the result of the dirty games of politicians who use religious, racial, and national discrimination as a tool to achieve their goals. Amin is hospitable with Adriana; he shows her his hometown, Mostar, and tells her the story of the ancient Stari Most, which has become a symbol of the city. Travelling with Amin to historical locations such as the origin of the Sufi Blagaya and Medjugorje, visiting the shrines with him, Adriana feels involuntary admiration for Amin’s humanity and courage. As she gets to know Mostar and Amin better, Adriana, who had been brought up in a spirit of hostility towards Bosnians, falls in love with a representative of the "enemy" nation.

The young people have to pay for this forbidden love. After a long separation, they finally meet again, but their happiness does not last. Since Adriana's father is a prominent political figure, the young people are facing persecution. They thus leave Mostar and settle in Srebrenica, changing their names. When the Serbian army enters the city in 1995, life again plays a cruel joke on them, and the policy of the chauvinist father has a devastating effect on the fate of his daughter. This time, the father and daughter meet in the strangest of fashions. A confluence of these past events is linked to the reasons that led Farouk to the rails.

Motifs and ideas

"If evil has not changed you, then it has not yet won".

Throughout the novel, Ted and Farouk are trying to answer the question “Why do I live?” Unable to answer it and grasp the thread of life, they end up on the rails. But here, talking to each other, they managed to loosen the main bonds of their lives and see themselves in new ways. As the train approaches, events develop in an unexpected fashion, and the main idea of the work becomes clear.

The images, which are very varied, have been chosen among hundreds of images of people in life, making the work colorful and quite interesting. We observe how some of the images in the work evolve through different situations and naturally turn from a caterpillar into a butterfly. The reader, who as a result of the stunning storyline feels close empathy with the images, willy-nilly draws parallels with himself or herself, realizing that getting rid of the misfortunes of life, past traumas is possible.

One of the main ideas of the work is to show that true love triumphs over all troubles, that selflessness for the sake of the person you love cleanses and resurrects the human soul. On the one hand, there is a terrible war whose main victims are women and children, and on the other hand, there is love, which comes out victorious in all the trials of life. Еo sacrifice yourself for the sake of your loved ones is easier than to live for them every day of your life: dying inside and resurrecting yourself every day for the sake of those you love – this is the hallmark of true love.

American critics about the book

Kirkus Reviews: Azerbaijani writer Abdullaoglu explicitly confronts some of the worst moments of the Balkan war and does a commendable job of portraying the complexities and nuances of that fraught place at its darkest hour. The storytelling is convincing, and its philosophical aspect has a timely and vital message. A lot happens in this novel, and though the incidents all come full circle, the narrative is weighted much more heavily to Farouk’s story. Some scenes are a bit preachy, but the theme of love overpowering adversity remains authentic.

An absorbing and contemplative tale about the ravages of war and the need for love.

Booklife Reviews: Bringing together history, theology, philosophy, and psychology, Abdullaoglu contemplates the stories of two men attempting suicide on the same train track. Ted, who grew up in New Brunswick, is the product of a less than loving childhood. His life was once idyllic but turned sour with the death of his mother and the remarriage of his father, and another tragedy sealed his fate. Farouk, raised in Saskatchewan, is haunted by events that happened before his birth and his past suicide attempts. As the men await their final moments, they discuss fate, literature, relationships, and the history that led them both to the rails.

Great for fans of Boris Pasternak’s Doctor Zhivago, Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns.

BookLife Prize: Abdullaoglu's prose is strong, and each character shines through with their unique voices.

Ted and Dorian are wildly sympathetic and deeply moving characters, whose arcs make strong bookends to the story. Meanwhile, Adriana's journey is engaging and fascinating.

Readers' Favorite Review: "Author Rovshan Abdullaoglu has crafted a wide perspective on humanity which homes in at the perfect moment to bring us detail and emotional impact as the story progresses. I knew very little about the Bosnian war and the conflicts of the different parties involved, so the novel delivered a lot of historical, cultural, and social perspectives from that time which all readers can benefit from understanding. I was most impressed by the character development, which creates the strong protagonists who underpin every action of the novel, and of course, Adriana stands out as a proud figure who undergoes quite the learning experience. The dialogue was a strong point too, driving important philosophical questions and digging deep into the emotive content of the tale, but remaining realistic and not clichéd. Overall, I would highly recommend The Man on the Rails to readers who appreciate thoughtful literary fiction with a wide-ranging perspective."

IndieReader Review: The Man On The Rails bears similarities to Joshua Oppenheimer’s heartbreaking documentaries, The Act of Killing and The Look of Silence, which examine the aftermath of war atrocities in Indonesia. In both Bosnia and Indonesia, war criminals roam free today or currently hold positions of power, while victims and their families suffer in silence. War continues to tear nations and families apart, long after the guns have gone silent.

The Man On The Rails is a powerful work. Rovshan Abdullaoglu writes with passion and grace with an impressive sense of detail and atmosphere in a modern novel crackling with ancient wisdom.

Self-Publishing Review: A cross-generational tale of suffering and perseverance, The Man on the Rails is an unforgettable musing on the value of life and the prices we must often pay to survive. In a narrative exploration of cultural biases and belief structures, as well as the complex confusion of romance in times of tragedy, this story is anything but a straight line or an easy escape. As is found in Abdullaoglu’s other work, there is an engaging juxtaposition of modern knowledge, ancient cultural traditions, and intense philosophical effort. While this cerebral undercurrent can occasionally make the story feel cold – a vehicle for larger ideas – the unique characters and unusual plot turns are effective catalysts for self-reflection and reassessment of all we think we know.

Charity

In 2019, the income received from the 6th edition of the book was donated to the public association "Assistance to the families of war victims and orphans”.

External links

• "Relslər Üzərinə Uzanmış Adam" (in Azerbaijani). qedimqala.az. Archived from the original on 2017-03-14. Retrieved 2017-03-14.
• Good Reads-də Relslər üzərinə uzanmış adam
• Rövşən Abdullaoğlunun yeni romanı rekordlara iddalıdır - VİDEO
• Rövşən Abdullaoğlu - Relslər üzərinə uzanmış adam
• 31 Mart soyqırımına həsr edilmiş kitab müzakirəsi YouTube