You come back home after your holidays in Georgia and want to get to know this country better? Maybe you just need to keep a piece of Caucasus with you at home? One of the ways to have Caucasus atmosphere with you is to read Georgian literature. That is why today we have prepared Georgian books worth reading after coming home from your first holidays to Georgia or when you are preparing for the next one.
Today we have prepared for you the list of novels, Georgian novels, that will help you get the mountains and valleys of the Caucasus home with you. I must admit it was not an easy task for us to choose just several books. I am saying “us” on purpose, because we were choosing the books worth reading together with Marta from my team of Języki Kaukazu – Languages of the Caucasus. We were choosing separately Georgian books we would recommend and then noticed there are some common ones. After that I was more than sure those we can call books worth reading and should make it to our episode of the Caucasus Podcast.
A small disclamer. We’ll talk about each book only a bit, because otherwise this episode would be hours long. The list of Georgian books I recommend today you can find also is a corresponding article on our website. As always the direct lint you’ll find in the episode description.
What are Georgian books worth reading about modern history?
Let’s start with one of the newest books on our list, so Lack of Light written by Nino Haratischvili. As we are recording this episode the book has been published in several languages, including German (the writer writes in German), Italian, Polish, Georgian, Czech and I know the English version should be available soon. I believe we’ll record a separate episode about this author in general, as her other book The Eight life; (for Brilka) is an international bestseller and will be transformed into a film. Both of them are definitelly books worth reading.
The Lack of Light, newest book of Nino Haratischvili, describes Georgia in 80s and 90s of 20th century. This was not an easy time for Georgians, starting with 2 civil wars, coup d’etat to end up in the notorious lack of electricity and heating. The events of that time stamped the mark on several generations of Georgians and the consequences of it we see till now.
I have read a lot and conducted many interviews with Georgians about those times and this Georgian novel shows the true reality of this Caucasian country in those times. If you are interested in how the Georgian history looked like from the perspective of single families, I do recommend reading “The Lack of Light”
Now let’s move several decades into the past, even before Bolsheviks came to the Caucasus. The next book we recommend reading after your holidays in Georgia is Ali and Nino written by Kurban Said. I would say almost must read book about Caucasus that helps you visualize this region before soviet times. It may be also a good reading before your trip to Batumi, because there you will find a sculpture called “Ali and Nino”. So the direct reference to this novel.
This Caucasian book is not only about love, but also shows you the variety of the region. Additionally, while reding it you may feel the complexity of the conflicts in the Caucasus, still present in the region. The more about this topic we covered in the 9th episode about war films we recommend. And let’s come back to books worth reading.
What are modern Georgian books worth reading?
We talked about past, so maybe now let’s move to the present. The recommendation I have for you in this category is a book by Georgian writer “Everybody Dies in this Novel”. Soon we’ll air a separate episode of the Caucasus podcast about this book and the author. That is why today I will just say this. This Georgian novel is hilarious book, full of absurd (in a positive way) as well as references to modern culture and fairy tales.
The main plot is not set in Georgia, but in an imaginary place. But what this book give you is an opportunity to see what young generation of Georgian writers thinks and talks about – Beka Adamashvili is the renowned Georgian blogger and the creative director of one of Georgian advertising agencies.
As we focus on Georgian writers, I would really recommend reading books by Archil Kikodze. Several of his books were translated into e.g. German, Romanian, Bulgarian and Polish. If you have any connections in US or UK publishing houses I do recommend suggesting buying the rights and translate those into English, because this is one of the most renowned modern writers in Georgia.
The one I wanted to cover today is the Southern Elephant. It you liked Tbilisi during your holidays in Georgia, this book will show you the city the way Georgian living there for generations sees it. As I mentioned Archil Kikodze is one of the Georgian writers receiving several prizes for his books, e.g. Saba prize, which we can compare to Pulitzer in US or Booker in UK. In general the nominations of Saba awards are the books worth reading.
Which Georgian writers we recommend?
The last but one book recommendation we have for you today is for those of you who want to get a grasp of good literature from 20th century, soviet Georgia. The author we would suggest to start with is Nodar Dumbadze. There are several of his books worth reading and translated into other languages, adapted as films or plays. Often it is good to look for his books in the second-hand bookshops, because they were published mostly in 70s and 80s.
I would recommend is book “the White Banners” (also adapted as a screen play), which describes us the reality of prisoners in Georgian soviet prison in 70s. It you are wondering what is the deal with Georgian so called “vory v zakone” and the romantization of the criminals in this country, it would be a novel worth reading.
Marta has chosen for you the book „I can see the Sun”, which is available in English and Russian among others. I would quote Marta here: “the book in an artistic way show us the Georgian countryside so it’s as we were almost there. A little bit romantic, rural way of depicting Georgia countryside life is also often looked for by Georgians themselves and by the foreigners. This Nodar Dumbadze’s book displays the daily life in the remote villages of the republic during Second World War.” Those are almost all books worth reading we have prepared for today.
What is the most classic Georgian literature worth reading?
It’s almost everything for today. Last but not least the classic book of Georgian literature, so “The Knight in the Panther’s Skin”. It’s Georgian medieval epic poem written by Shota Rustaveli, which is seen by Georgians almost like a national treasure. I am more than sure you have been on at least one street or avenue or square named after Shota Rustaveli. It’s almost like Shakespeare of Georgian literature.
This book may be for more advanced fan of Georgian literature, but it enables us to understand Medieval romanticism and the canon of manhood and feminity. Although this epic poem is over 700 years old, the references to The “Knight in the Panther’s Skin” you may see almost everywhere in Georgia.
So that’s the list of books worth reading after your holidays in Georgia. What would be the books you’d add to the list? Let us know. And if you want to come back to the list of the Georgian books we covered today, it’s available on our website and the direct link is in the description.
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