Editing Lev Nussimbaum (section)

=== ''Ali and Nino'' ===
[[Tom Reiss]] attributes the 1937 novel ''[[Ali and Nino: A Love Story]]'', published under the pseudonym [[Kurban Said]], to Lev Nussimbaum. In his biography of Nussimbaum, ''The Orientalist'', Reiss argues that Said was another pseudonym of Nussimbaum's, and that ''Ali and Nino'' was written by Nussimbaum.<ref name=Reiss>{{cite book|last=Reiss|first=Tom|title=The Orientalist : Solving the Mystery of a Strange and Dangerous Life|year=2005|publisher=Random House|location=New York|isbn=978-0-8129-7276-4|edition=2006 Random House trade pbk.|url=https://archive.org/details/orientalist00tomr}}</ref>

Reiss also debunks claims made by the heirs of Austrian baroness Elfriede Ehrenfels, who claimed co-authorship. Reiss acknowledges that she registered the book with German authorities in Austria after 1938, but suggests that this was because Nussimbaum could not have received money for publishing the book in Germany due to his Jewish ethnicity.<ref name=Kalder>{{cite news|last=Kalder|first=Daniel|title=The vanishing fascination of truly anonymous authors|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/sep/15/vanishing-fascination-anonymous-authors|accessdate=9 January 2012|newspaper=The Guardian|date=15 September 2011}}</ref>

Other critics, however, maintain that the book is partially plagiarized. They suggest that it was adapted by Nussimbaum from an earlier manuscript. A 2011 issue of ''[[Azerbaijan International]]'' re-opened the issue of the authorship of ''Ali and Nino''. The primary author featured in this issue, Betty Blair, states that "we are convinced" that the book was written mostly by Azerbaijani author [[Yusif Vazir Chamanzaminli]],<ref>{{cite journal|journal=[[Azerbaijan International]] |year=2011|volume=15.2-15.4|title=Reasons why Yusif Vazir Chamanzaminli is the Core Author of "Ali and Nino,"|url=http://www.azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/ai152_folder/152_index_eng.html|accessdate=9 January 2012}}</ref> though they also offer evidence that Nussimbaum wrote at least some portions of the book.<ref name=cutandpaste/><br />
 
They argue that the folkloric and legendary passages include exact "cut and paste" passages that Nussimbaum had published multiple times in his earlier works.<ref name=cutandpaste>{{cite journal|journal=[[Azerbaijan International]]|year=2011|title=Specifically, exact treatments of legendary material was taken from Essad Bey's "Blood and Oil in the Orient (1929), "Twelve Secrets of the Caucasus", "Der Kaukasus," Flussiges Gold" (Liquid Gold) and the German literary journal "Die Literarische Welt". Specific examples and text are provided in the article 'Cut and Paste' Author: Essad Bey's Fingerprints|volume=15.2-15.4|url=http://www.azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/ai152_folder/152_index_eng.html|accessdate=9 January 2012}}</ref> They also note that Nussimbaum left the Caucasus when he was only 14 years old <ref>{{cite journal|journal=[[Azerbaijan International]]|year=2011|last=Blair|first=Betty|title=Folklore: What Essad Bey Didn't Know: Portrait of the Caucasus|volume=15.2-15.4|url=http://www.azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/ai152_folder/152_index_eng.html|accessdate=9 January 2012}}</ref> and that he boasted that he was a Monarchist, although the novel expresses the views of someone who sought the independence of Azerbaijan. Reiss dismissed the claim that Chamanzaminli was the author behind the Said pseudonym, claiming that he looked at one of Chamanzaminli's novellas and found him to be a Muslim communalist nationalist. Blair argues, in contrast, that ''Ali and Nino'' is a "nationalist" book in a broader, non-communalist sense, since the novel is essentially about Azerbaijan's independence.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=[[Azerbaijan International]]|year=2011|title=Frequently Asked Questions about the Authorship of "Ali and Nino" (specifically questions 45 and 46)|volume=15.2-15.4|url=http://azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/ai152_folder/152_articles/English/152_faq_list.html|accessdate=9 January 2012}}</ref>

[[Tamar Injia]] published a book entitled ''[[Ali and Nino – Literary Robbery!]]'', showing that substantial portions of the book were copied from the book ''[[The Snake's Skin]]'' by [[Georgian people|Georgian]] author [[Grigol Robakidze]]. Injia analyzed the two books, and found a number of similar or identical passages, and concluded that "[[Kurban Said]]" (whose real life identity she does not attempt to determine) deliberately copied passages from Robakidze's earlier novel.