Civilization and the Russian Far EastI read the book “The Dead Lake” by Ismailov,Hamid, translated by Andrew Bromfield, published by (Pierene Press, 2014) with only 128 pages. The story tells of Yerzhan, the main character, who is a 12-year-old boy who lives with his grandparents, mother and uncle in a remote town in Kazakhstan. It is told in the third person, but we imagine ourselves in the boy's position. The town is old and almost deserted as the only neighbors are a neighbor and a train. Its only environment is known as the Steppe, a huge piece of desert land with an eerie feel. Many stories are told about the steppe to warn children, it is also known as "The Zone". Their only neighbor's daughter is the girl he always knew he would marry when he grew up, especially with so few people. He knows what he wants and is driven to impress and conquer her. The first part of the story describes the younger years of Yerzhan's life. Yerzhan is talented in music and quickly learns to play the violin so well, but he realizes that this talent will never be fully exploited in his city, or even in his county. He is known as a talented musician, but it's a shame he doesn't get recognized for it. Yerzhan's uncle can work at the nearby nuclear plant creating nuclear bombs for war. Between 1949 and 1989, the massive Soviet nuclear test site deep in Kazakhstan, where Yerzhan lives, was known to emit radioactive fallout up to 2,500 times more powerful than the single bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Their goal was to outproduce the Americans. This is a very powerful description that helps put the danger of this site in the eyes of the reader. This is very... middle of paper... and trapped in this city. In conclusion, I would recommend this book, but only with the caveat that it is a very dark novel. It has a beautiful love story with a boy's terrible fate due to the war efforts. It is very strong in its descriptions of the scenarios and the emotions of the characters. I really feel like I can imagine myself watching trains, or describing the deserted steppe and any other kind of nature. I wouldn't recommend this book because it's a sad story about how the boy can't age, and it's not the most realistic story, but it's still entertaining. I think this book manages to cover the description of the Kazakh steppes very well and demonstrate how it is a shame that the little boy's life is wasted, as well as two families destroyed and an entire city of people tricked into risking nuclear tests , only for war efforts.