Reviews

This book is probably one of the bulkiest I've ever read. I struggled a bit in the beginning to get into the story but after that it was hard to let go of it.
Tip, it's lengthy, has a ton of characters , take some notes and/or look up the family tree online every now and then.

kegifford's review

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adventurous challenging dark informative sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

A multigenerational family saga set in the country of Georgia. For me, this book was written too much like a soap opera, with too much emphasis on the characters’ love and sex lives.

Content Warnings

thebobsphere's review against another edition

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3.0

There comes a point in big thick novels, where I hit my stride and I really PLOUGH through the whole thing at an alarming rate. It's happened with The Books of Jacob, A Fine Balance, A Little Life AND To Paradise I even whizzed through the last 200 pages or so of the almighty Ducks, Newburyport but that never happened once with The Eighth Life. It wasn't a slog but it wasn't exactly the best thing I've ever read either. Let's get into the good:

The book is a family saga spanning a century and a bit (1900 - 2007) what differentiates it from the books typical of the genre is that the family are from Georgia (the Eastern European country) so the reader gets a snapshot of Georgian history, which is tied up with Russian history. Saying that, there little paragraphs explaining all the other world events of a particular year or decade. There is also a magical realist element via a secret chocolate recipe that is passed down from this family, which carries a curse if overindulged.

I will say straight away that the translation is excellent. The English flows and is organic. If one told me that it was originally in German, I would have been surprised. My problem with the novel stems from the actual story as it falls into repetition pretty easily. Here's the formula (yes it is a formula)

Protagonist meets a member of the opposite sex

Protagonist commits

Protagonist has other children from another character (There's a ton of cheating in this novel)

Now, maybe the author wanted to show how cyclic life can be, if so then it's a terrific job but, for me it got a bit boring and saw it as one long, melodramatic soap opera.

My other gripe is that the cursed chocolate recipe. It feels like a tacked on idea as it makes an appearance in the beginning, disappears completely and then makes a fleeting cameo towards the end. Personally I like magical elements in a book to be more consistent.

For a book that's 935 pages, I sort of expect the length to be justified but too many sections drag due to the constant wife swapping so it did become a slog. It could have easily been a 400 page novel and would have been more satisfying.

I guess I am disappointed by The Eighth Life. In some ways it works as a novel but there were many elements, which I think, could have been improved. Definitely not a book I dislike but not one I'd return to.

beth79's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

dhartje87's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

rjhartigan's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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