Skip to main content

THE EIGHTH LIFE by NINO HARATISCHVILI



THE EIGHTH LIFE by NINO HARATISCHVILI


I have been reading this book for a month (since @scribe_uk started their read-along) and in that time these characters have become part of my life. I feel like I have lived with their stories for so long that I have become part of their family.

This book is the definition of epic. It is 944 pages long (the longest book I’ve ever read) and it spans over 100 years of Georgian history; living under Tsar rule, WWI, The October Revolution, Lenin, Stalin, WWII, all the way up to the fall of the Soviet Union and 2007 political demonstrations.

In that time I relearned my intrigue for Soviet history, I fell in love with the Jashi and Eristravi families and I craved chocolate more than ever before.

If you haven’t read this then you probably should and if you have read this, please comment with your favourite character(s). I think mine would have to be Christine or Stasia or Kitty. But honestly I loved them all and all their stories.

I don’t think I’ve even seen a picture of Georgia before but in my head Lenin Square is as clear as my own back garden layout!

I always like to write reviews as soon as I’ve finished reading a book so that the emotions are raw and I have been reading this book all day hence this review is quite gushing and, probably, hardly a review at all!

Give this book all the prizes and let’s leave it there.



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

LIKE A LOVE STORY by ABDI NAZEMIAN

  LIKE A LOVE STORY by ABDI NAZEMIAN This novel follows the points of view of three teenagers in the late 1980s in New York during the AIDS crisis. One is openly gay, the other is also gay and is from Iran and is struggling with his sexuality and the other is a young and beautiful girl with a gay uncle who has AIDS. The story is centred around activism and protests and fighting against the homophobic system and disgusting pharmaceutical companies that sell medicines for people with AIDS at impossible prices. The president, Reagan, didn’t even speak the word AIDS out loud even though it was killing one person every twelve seconds. Throughout this heartbreaking story, I could feel the author’s hope. There were strong themes of love and friendship that stitched my broken heart together again. There is still a lot to be done and the final chapter and the author’s note at the end prove that we must continue to educate ourselves and continue to fight for the rights of LGBTQ+ people. Be m...

HOMECOMING by LUAN GOLDIE

  HOMECOMING by LUAN GOLDIE What I loved about this book: - it spanned 20 years so you get a good feel for all the characters. - Kenya. I don’t think I’ve read about Kenya before so it was nice to have some new descriptions. - mystery. This is not something I always enjoy in a novel because I’m very impatient, but I found it kept me hooked. - the writer. I enjoyed Nightingale Point so I was looking forward to something else from Goldie. What I didn’t like about this book: - Yvonne - Emma - Lewis - all the extra characters For me it’s very important to connect with the characters. I normally find it intriguing if I don’t like a character, but in this case I didn’t care about the characters. I’m sorry to say that this was not a great reading experience for me but I did get some enjoyment out of it, so no regrets and I would still be willing to read other world by Goldie. What did you think of this?

The Great Godden by Meg Rosoff

The Great Godden by Meg Rosoff Well, I guess you could say I’m a little bit excited! I’ve been on Bookstagram for a year now and I’ve just been accepted on to my first ever  @tandemcollectiveuk  readalong. I’ve been sent a book by  @bloomsburypublishing  and goodies from  @cartwright_butler  These biscuits are seriously divine! Meg Rosoff is an auto-buy author for me. She’s been one of my favourites since I was a teenager and that is why I cannot wait to read this book. It has also been compared to Bonjour Tristesse which is a book that I adore. *EDIT on 19/7* I’ve now finished the book and I am torn. I think this book is clever in many ways - especially its portrayal of gender and family relationships and mystery. However, there were some elements that I felt could have been drawn out further. I think I would have adored this book had it been longer. I wanted more! As it stands, I enjoyed reading the book and the process of stopping and answering the promp...