Georgia – or as Georgians themselves call it, Sakartvelo (საქართველო) – is one of the most beautiful and interesting countries in the world, a realm with a history going back thousands of years and possessing a distinct language, religion, cuisine and culture. It is not quite European, nor is it Asian either. There’s nowhere in the world quite like it.
However its geographical position and natural resources have meant that over the past two thousand years or so it’s been subject to the predations of various imperialists – Muslim, Russian, Arab, Turkish, Mongol, Ottoman, Soviet, Persian, Seljuk, Roman, Armenian, Timurid, etc. Some of these invaders and would-be conquerers have even tried to wipe the country and its people out completely.
This is a fascinating book on a long and turbulent history, going back millennia and coming up to the present day and the challenges of post-Soviet independence. The author is a professor of Russian and Georgian at QMC and clearly knows his stuff, as well as being an excellent writer. Highly recommended to anyone wishing to learn more about this wonderful country. Could do with more/better maps and illustrations though.
I have just finished this and thought that it was brilliant. It very cleverly explores, amongst other things, how keeping some things secret can engender an intense loneliness, even if you have friends, a spouse and family. It’s very moving. I had never come across this author before but will now explore some of her other novels.
I have read several of her other books and they are well worth exploring. I look forward to this one in due course. Slightly bemused that an endorsement on the front of the novel is from someone who passed in 2022! As this novel was published this year, it seems a stretch!
But did that unrest reach the strata of Parisian society about which I am to read?
I am not sure I would place too much political and social credence on the shoulders of Jagger and Richards unless of course they made an appearance.
Gauguin book was a superb almost rollicking read. Dispensed with many myths and explained the shifts in style brilliantly. The only thing left hanging for me wasn’t touched at all. He was clearly a very very ill man at the end but he was also someone who gave others motive to kill him. Not even a suggestion that happened.
Taking time out from my book backlog now for a week or two as I’m lost in a productive spell of songwriting and thought it an appropriate moment to brush up on some music theory.
