This Kirghiz tale could be a valuable addition to the canon of epic poetry taught in American schools. Whether using a formalist, genre, reader-response, historical, multicultural, or transcultural approach, educators would do well to include the story of Manas alongside those of Gilgamesh, Odysseus, Aeneas, and Beowulf. In a world that becomes smaller by the day, knowing each others’ stories can teach us how to coexist and thrive together.

Thank you to the legacy of Saghïmbay Orozbaq uulu, Penguin Classics, and NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.