On a hot summer day in Baku in 1973, Esmira met a young man in the bookshop that she managed. While speaking to a friend over the phone, her eye caught the mysterious stranger entering the store. Esmira glanced at him. Her gaze was caught by his striking looks: broad-shouldered with hazel eyes and an olive complexion.
Esmira’s assistant saleswoman, Sveta, approached him with a broad smile on her face. “Sir, how can I help you?” She tossed a paper fan back and forth in front of her doll-like face.
He shared the smile. “War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, please.” Sveta located a copy of the classic, after which he paid for his purchase and departed.
Her eyes lingered on him as he exited the shop. She sighed audibly. A week passed, and this elusive male customer returned. When he came into the bookshop, Esmira was standing by the cash register scribbling sales inventory in a notebook. Sveta had abandoned the sales counter to take a nap in the store-room in the back, leaving Esmira as the only other person in the front of the shop.
With a broad smile, the man greeted her and asked for a book by Nasradin Nuris. Esmira mounted a stool to retrieve the item. She began to search among the bookshelves. As she found the section where Nasradin’s books were located, she noticed out of the corner of her eye that the man was ogling her figure. Noticeable warmth coursed through the man’s body. His heart pounded impatiently. As Samed licked his bottom lip, he pondered her lithe body, beautiful legs, and firm round bottom. The stinging sensations shot through his hands, which were fidgeting nervously. Because of his penchant for curvy women, he clearly aimed to possess her right there, without any regard whatsoever for her own intentions.
~~~
Broken Chains
By Emiliya Ahmadova
While this is a family saga that include issues from at least four generations, the book hones in on the life of one of the children, Silvana, who succeeds in breaking the chains of her childhood. The drama takes place in the Port City of Baku, the Capital of Azerbaijan...
When her mother Esmira, met Samed, she was managing a bookstore and Samed visited first to buy a book but came back...He planned to capture the attention of Esmira and have his way, no matter what... Esmira was a young Muslim girl who was so naive that she had no understanding of contraception. Of course she got pregnant. Samed immediately told her to get an abortion... Silvana was the first child to this man who spent much of his time seducing and taking young girls as his own, for at least one time...
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It was Esmira's mother, Sadaget, who wound up taking care of Esmira's children... yes, she had two more by Samed... Readers will learn of the life of the children as they follow daily interactions within the family.
Seeing her mother, Esmira froze, aghast. Her whole body suddenly felt weak. She felt like she was going to black out. Esmira held onto the table to keep from falling , her heart beating fast. Allah, have mercy on me! Sadaget saw Esmira's belly, and her jaw suddenly dropped. Her mother’s facial expression made Esmira agitated. Her knees began to shake...
“I'm ashamed,” answered Esmirain a low voice. Sadaget picked up the newspaper. She threw it at her daughter. It hit her belly and fell onto the floor. Esmira moved two steps back.
“You should have shame, jumping into a man's bed without marriage!” yelled Sadaget. She shook her head and approaching Esmira, she spat on her. Next, she slapped her face. “Whore! Was it Samed?”
Although Esmira never was told, her mother had also got pregnant as a single girl and had been so careful trying to prevent the same thing happening to her daughter! Raising children without a father was a difficult life.
Initially, it was planned that the child would be given up for an adoption, but as soon as Esmira and then her mother saw the baby, they chose to keep her. Esmira took 3 months leave to take care of the child, but soon it was Sadaget who had primary responsibility. In the meantime, Samed had moved on to live with another woman, but then moved back with Esmira, while continuing to lie about everything, including that he still saw other women...
An important twist had been in place that became more prominent as Silvana grew. Sadaget's background had been in the Orthodox Church, so she read from both the Bible and the Koran, which allowed Silvana to learn about both religions. As she grew older and began to think and act on her own thoughts, she had made her own decisions about which spoke to her more. But those thoughts could easily get her in trouble since her honest actions did not necessarily match those of others. Even then Silvana was bold enough to speak out to those who did wrong...
Silvana did everything she could to help her granny and the family, learning English so she could look for a job. But when she found it, she soon was faced with her first experience of having a man try sexual interaction... She walked out!
Silvana is a fantastic character. But living where she was allowed the family cycle to continue--Silvana was the fourth generation of being a woman of the age for marriage. Would she break the cycle of living and raising a family without a husband? But Silvana had a dream of marrying a prince charming, someone from a foreign country who would take her away from her old life...
She thought Mark who was English was to be that man and when all her dreams seemed to be coming true, she thought everything was perfect... She was wrong...
Each of the women in this family had accepted the lies of men who had wanted only one thing... By the time Sadaget had followed her mother, she had learned enough to be a strong woman, able to earn a basic living and continually taught her daughter about keeping herself for her husband. When Esmira failed, Sadaget continued to support her family and continued to try to break the chains of servitude...But it was Silvana who had listened, who had learned enough teachings from the Bible and Koran, and, developed the fortitude to act to seek the freedom from bondage...
One interesting think I learned was that the individual lives of the women, whether Muslim or Christian, were not really that different...but that it took each of the individuals to seek and then choose to follow her own path for her life... It was heartwarming as well as a challenge to watch these women struggle for...freedom...
The issue of religious choice seems to be more of a factor in America than ever before... Those interested may find Broken Chains of help in seeing and making a woman's life choices...
GABixlerReviews
I am from Azerbaijan but currently live abroad. Azerbaijan is very beautiful country and we speak Azerbaijani language and some know Russian.
I am a believer, mother, author, motivational coach, ex scout leader who believes in the possibility of everything. I work hard in order to achieve my goals and make sure that God plays a main role in my life. I do not take the answer No for no.
I love writing and enjoy helping people. It allows me to create something new or bring something positive into someone's life.
As a writer I will continue writing covering the topics that not only would capture the readers' interest, but teach, give direction and highlight the issues that as humans we are facing. I would like to try myself in different genres producing a unique piece for my readers. However, I do not see writing as my career. It is a hobby and a tool that allows me to share my knowledge, entertain, motivate and guide. I wrote Broken Chains, A Hell for All Seasons and in a process of editing My twin sister and I(book for children).
Broken Chains symbolizes freedom from the fears, anxiety, negative situations etc. It shows an ability to break the chains that keep someone down and move forward to something new and better without looking back.
Little bit about my education.
I have diplomas in business management as well as a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in human resources management. I also have international diplomas in the advanced study of the theory and practice of management, administration, business management, communication, hotel operations management, office management and administration, and professional English from the Cambridge International College, in addition to a certificate in novel writing. I speak four languages (Azeri, Russian, English, and some Turkish), but my native language is Azerbaijani.
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