see also my Uzbek grammar page

Uzbek literature is not well known in the United States. I translated these excerpts of Uzbek writing into English so that a broader audience can learn about Uzbek literature and culture. Translations provided on this site are rough works in progress. Note: Author biographies can be found on literature.uz.

Memoirs

Bolalik (Childhood) by Oybek, 1963. [Translation of excerpt of Bolalik]
      Oybek (1905-68) was a famous Uzbek writer. Bolalik is the story of his family and growing up.

O'tmishdan ertaklar (Fairytales from the Past) by Abdulla Qahhor, 1965.
      Abdulla Qahhor (1907-68) was a contemporary of Oybek. O'tmishdan ertaklar includes a story called "Indamas (Silence)," which recounts the time when he stayed close to home and spoke very little because of shyness and fear of the neighbor children.

Drama

Kuzning birinchi kuni (The First Day of Autumn) by O'lmas Umarbekov, 1979.
     O'lmas Umarbekov (1934-94) was a well-known writer of novellas, novels, and later dramas. "Kuzning birinchi kuni" is a reference to the first day of school. In this play, the protagonists play hooky from school. Instead of going to school, the three young men—Rem, Sobir, and Farhod—play with a gun and kill a bystander. Their parents struggle over how best to help them in this situation: should they help them avoid jail or turn them in?

Mazluma xotin (The Oppressed Wife) by Hoji Mu'in Shukrulla. [Translation of excerpt of Mazluma xotin]
     Hoji Mu'in (1883-1942) was a journalist, poet, dramatist, and translator. He was a Jadid, a reformer at the beginning of the 20th century. Mazluma Xotin is a play about a man who takes a second wife and the misfortunes that his first wife and his family suffers because of this. The story of the play supports women's rights and resists the old practice of marrying multiple wives without good reason such as if the first wife is chronically ill or cannot bear children.

Short Stories

"Tungi sarguzasht" ("Evening Incident")  by Said Ahmad
     Said Ahmad (1920 - ) is known for his humorous writings. This short story is about a man who gives a frightened young girl a lift home late at night. He pays for his good deed by being accused of stealing money from her purse, which she left in the back seat of his car. He angrily gives her his own money to make up the missing sum and leaves, when she realizes that she didn't lose the money -- she had used it to pay bills earlier.

"Ikki afsona" ("Two Legends")  by O'tkir Hoshimov
     O'tkir Hoshimov (1941 - ). This short story is about a journalist who has a run-in with the cleaning lady at his office. She scolds him for dropping cigarette ashes all over the floor, disrespecting her labors. He apologizes and reminisces about his mother, who was also a cleaning lady. His mother would tell him two tales over and over, embedded within were messages about respecting family and others, because even a cleaning person has a noble purpose.