'Abai' is the story of Kazakhstan's literary hero, Abai Kunanbayev. Auezov confesses that details of Abai's life are sketchy, so the work is largely fiction. This part (the first one) is set in the 1860s in the extreme east of Kazakhstan, and follows Abai's transition into manhood.

The book was published in the Soviet Union in the 1950s, and presents Abai as a socialist hero, almost a secular Christ-like figure leading the Kazakh people away from the twin evils of their religious leadership (all corrupt) and Tsarist officials (all nincompoops). However, the political proselytising is kept to a minimum, and Auezov's book is more of a sweeping epic, with romance, bloodshed and heroism aplenty. It frequently rises above this slightly trite description, to become a really interesting read in places. The cultural background was largely new to me, which always keeps me reading, and the story of Abai's relationship with his occasionally despotic father was blossoming into something very interesting as the book ended. I certainly enjoyed this enough to keep an eye out for the second part, but perhaps not enough to look (or spend) too hard to get it. Very enjoyable, for what it was.