Zuleikha (novel)
| Author | Guzel Yakhina |
|---|---|
| Original title | Зулейха открывает глаза |
| Translator | Lisa C. Hayden (English) |
| Language | Russian |
| Publisher | AST Yelena Shubina |
Publication date | 2015 |
| Publication place | Russia |
Published in English | 2019 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback) |
| ISBN | 978-1-786-07349-5 |
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Zuleikha (Russian: Зулейха́ открыва́ет глаза́, romanized: Zuleykha otkryvayet glaza) [“Zuleykha Opens Her Eyes”] is a debut novel written in 2015 by the Russian author Guzel Yakhina. It describes the lives of various people, including the titular protagonist, struggling to survive in exile in Siberia from 1930 to 1946.
The book won the Yasnaya Polyana Literary Award and the Big Book Award in 2015. It has been translated into twenty-one languages.
The first sentence of the novel is "Zuleihka opens her eyes." This sentence in the novel serves as a leitmotiv. Whenever Zuleihka begins to notice or learn something new about herself or her surroundings, the sentence "Zuleihka opens her eyes" is repeated multiple times throughout the novel. The novel is considered a bildungsroman because it deals with Zuleihka's personal transformations as a result of the life experiences she gains, and her journey of becoming a strong woman by achieving freedom.