Het achtste leven (voor Brilka)

I have had my copy of The Eighth Life awaiting reading for some three years now, having been excited at the thought of my first Georgian-authored novel when I was first accepted to read it, but then seriously intimidated by just how long it is when I downloaded the file. I generally don't get on well with huge books, however The Eighth Life proved to be an exception which - once I actually got around to starting it - kept my interest fully engaged throughout. The storyline takes in the lives of several generations of the same family, effectively recounting a century of Georgian history at the same time. It is divided into sections, each focusing on one member of the family (and, no, the eighth section is not missing from the kindle edition as some other reviewers have complained. That final life just hasn't happened yet!). These sections are each pretty much a self contained story in their own right, albeit one which does obviously have strong links to the others, so the device allowed me to read The Eighth Life almost as though it were a series.

I loved how Nino Haratischwili depicts the changing political and sociological situations as the century progresses. I happened, at the same time as reading this book, to also be watching the Adam Curtis TraumaZone documentary about the collapse of the USSR and the two complemented each other very well, each allowing me deeper insights into what was happening in reality and in fiction at the time. Haratischwili has such an amazing understanding of each of her characters. They were all such real people to me, all with their own vivid personalities. I had wondered if the intensity might slip as the novel progressed, but I found myself just as compelled to keep reading during the early chapters as during the final ones. The Eighth Life isn't a happy epic by any means. The family often do seem cursed though whether that is indeed the fault of the hot chocolate I couldn't say, and I also don't think they had worse than other families in similar circumstances. I was particularly intrigued by how cleverly Haratischwili evoked the circular repetitions of life over the century - the circle of life itself, but also the ebb and flow of armies as wars are fought over this small country.

I am glad that I did keep The Eighth Life tucked away rather than giving up on it before I had even started, and having now read it I would happily recommend it to fans of Eastern European literature, family sagas, and, of course, readers who fully appreciate big books!