This story is set among the Nyvkh people on Sakhalin Island in the icy Sea of Okhotsk north of Japan. Life is extremely harsh in those frigid wastes and is maintained only by hunting seals, of which every single piece is put to use for food, clothing, shelter and bone utensils by these relatives of the North American Eskimos. Aitmatov dramatically sets the scene of an elemental war between land and sea.A classic from the award-winning Kyrgyz and Soviet...