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spiderskylar's review
adventurous
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
francisca69's review against another edition
4.0
Dit boek begon in april en voor mijn gevoel schoot het maar niet op. Toen ik dan ook zag dat het als luisterboek op Storytel stond ben ik het ook gaan luisteren. Ik wilde lezen en luisteren afwisselen maar dat bleek wat lastiger dan gedacht. Ik heb me dan ook heel veel laten voorlezen tijdens het lezen zodat ik de volgende ochtend tijdens mijn ommetjes vloeiend verder kon met enkel luisteren. Door een steekwoord te onthouden rondom waar ik stopte met luisteren lukte het me dan om dit punt in het e-book weer terug te vinden.
In de boekhandel heb ik gevraagd of er wellicht in het papieren boek wellicht een stamboom stond en ja die stond er! Daar heb ik een foto van gemaakt want ik raakte soms wel eens het spoor bijster van hoe oud sommige mensen nu wel niet waren en hoe de relaties ook alweer in elkaar staken. In elk geval lukte het me om het boek uit te lezen en ik ben dan ook erg benieuwd naar de voorstelling waar ik 13 juni heen ga.
Heel bijzonder familie epos over een Georgische familie. De relaties, de liefdes, de vriendschappen en natuurlijk krijg je veel van de geschiedenis van het land mee. Maar soms kon ik de vele lange zinnen met bijzinnen wel schieten!
In de boekhandel heb ik gevraagd of er wellicht in het papieren boek wellicht een stamboom stond en ja die stond er! Daar heb ik een foto van gemaakt want ik raakte soms wel eens het spoor bijster van hoe oud sommige mensen nu wel niet waren en hoe de relaties ook alweer in elkaar staken. In elk geval lukte het me om het boek uit te lezen en ik ben dan ook erg benieuwd naar de voorstelling waar ik 13 juni heen ga.
Heel bijzonder familie epos over een Georgische familie. De relaties, de liefdes, de vriendschappen en natuurlijk krijg je veel van de geschiedenis van het land mee. Maar soms kon ik de vele lange zinnen met bijzinnen wel schieten!
dukegregory's review against another edition
3.0
3.5
Sometimes wonderfully intimate, sometimes overly sentimental, but always overly macrocosmic, it just works and doesn't work simultaneously. It considers itself a recounting of the "Red Century," but, whenever a history occurred outside of the familial narrative, it would recount these global dilemmas that no one requires explanation for, whether it be something like the invasion of Poland, Pearl Harbor, etc., and this process of recounting history as saga, as concurrent to genealogy, is nothing really new, but it really only works if the history feels consistently insightful in some way. I'm surprised there wasn't more about Georgia in all of this. The writing can at times become a bit melodramatic, but I think, for the most part, it works. The middle lulls in a way the first and last three-hundred pages don't for me, but there is definitely a lot to love here. I adore Stasia. Adore! That whole generation was the heart of the novel for me. Their parents, their children, and themselves are written so lovingly. No other characters compare to them for me. I will say that this book made me feel fatigued for whatever reason at points. I had a whole day that I couldn't read without getting a headache or struggling to actually register what I was reading. It was still good though. It just had its moments.
Sometimes wonderfully intimate, sometimes overly sentimental, but always overly macrocosmic, it just works and doesn't work simultaneously. It considers itself a recounting of the "Red Century," but, whenever a history occurred outside of the familial narrative, it would recount these global dilemmas that no one requires explanation for, whether it be something like the invasion of Poland, Pearl Harbor, etc., and this process of recounting history as saga, as concurrent to genealogy, is nothing really new, but it really only works if the history feels consistently insightful in some way. I'm surprised there wasn't more about Georgia in all of this. The writing can at times become a bit melodramatic, but I think, for the most part, it works. The middle lulls in a way the first and last three-hundred pages don't for me, but there is definitely a lot to love here. I adore Stasia. Adore! That whole generation was the heart of the novel for me. Their parents, their children, and themselves are written so lovingly. No other characters compare to them for me. I will say that this book made me feel fatigued for whatever reason at points. I had a whole day that I couldn't read without getting a headache or struggling to actually register what I was reading. It was still good though. It just had its moments.
martina_93's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
eshatto's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
ilonaiva's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
5.0
alnilam1's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
4.0
oleksandrrr's review
I have read multiple stories from people's lives in USSR.
I expected this one to be a similar story with Georgian background.
However, I could not force myself reading after the first chapter.
Regular readers are missing context, so when they read that the woman could not be sent to hospital on "Chaika" and they had to use the other car they won't understand povetry in USSR. There were only several thousand "Chaika" cars built and buying a regular car would take ages and not possible for lots of people. Also, it might be hard to get spare parts or fuel. So for me that chapter sounded like, "the flight on our Boeing-747 would be too slow, so we got our helicopter."
It also, would be hard to get a phone at that time and a lucky few would get a part-day number.
I searched the text for mentions of NKVD/GPU/KGB and it was not described in the book well.
I expected this one to be a similar story with Georgian background.
However, I could not force myself reading after the first chapter.
Regular readers are missing context, so when they read that the woman could not be sent to hospital on "Chaika" and they had to use the other car they won't understand povetry in USSR. There were only several thousand "Chaika" cars built and buying a regular car would take ages and not possible for lots of people. Also, it might be hard to get spare parts or fuel. So for me that chapter sounded like, "the flight on our Boeing-747 would be too slow, so we got our helicopter."
It also, would be hard to get a phone at that time and a lucky few would get a part-day number.
I searched the text for mentions of NKVD/GPU/KGB and it was not described in the book well.
a2n0d0y1's review
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Finally done!! I loved this book, it was gut wrenching and honestly so beautiful. It was so sad and so satisfying to follow a century worth of life.