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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Ik vond de setting mooi. Het was interessant om over Georgië te leren, hier had ik nog niet eerder wat over gelezen. Het mysterie was spannend, met name door de obstakels die op hun pad kwamen. Maar er waren zoveel karakters zonder echt een introductie, dat ik het niet meer kon bijhouden. Het mysterie werd ook niet bevredigend opgelost, ik bleef nog met allerlei vragen achter..
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Devotees of Grimm’s fairytales will recognise the title of this book as the first line of “Hansel and Gretel”. In some ways an allegory of the Grimm fairytale, “Hard By A Great Forest” spins a dark tale of a lost son following a breadcrumb trail to unearth secrets of a family divided and torn apart by politics and history.
That this is Vardiashvili’s debut novel is hard to believe. It’s breathtakingly well-crafted. Set in the traumatic aftermath of war in post-Soviet Georgia, the story is inspired by the author’s own experience as a Georgian refugee who escaped to England. It charts the journey of an exile returning to his ravaged homeland to search for lost family. From the unforgiving perspective of an eyewitness, Vardiashvili depicts a pilgrim’s progress of horror, brutality, grief, tenderness and humour, brushed with the whimsy of magical realism.
Saba, a young boy, and his older brother Sandro flee the civil war in Georgia with their father Irakli, leaving Eka, their mother, behind, promising to send for her later. Twenty years later and haunted by memories of the wife who was never able to rejoin him, Irakli returns to their homeland and mysteriously disappears. Sandro goes in search of him but also disappears. In a desperate mission to trace his family, Saba also goes back. He is immediately drawn into a hornet’s nest of intrigue when he attempts to follow a cryptic trail of symbols, messages and passages from a play his father wrote. Pursued by the police, besieged by voices of dead friends and relatives and increasingly embroiled in the dysfunctional lives of his compatriots, he determines, no matter the dangers, to piece together the shattered pieces of his family.
While much of the book deals with suffering and the anguish of families ripped apart, the overriding message is one of hope, humanity and one man’s indomitable drive to prevail against the devastation of war.
Review published in Good Reading Magazine February 2024 issue
That this is Vardiashvili’s debut novel is hard to believe. It’s breathtakingly well-crafted. Set in the traumatic aftermath of war in post-Soviet Georgia, the story is inspired by the author’s own experience as a Georgian refugee who escaped to England. It charts the journey of an exile returning to his ravaged homeland to search for lost family. From the unforgiving perspective of an eyewitness, Vardiashvili depicts a pilgrim’s progress of horror, brutality, grief, tenderness and humour, brushed with the whimsy of magical realism.
Saba, a young boy, and his older brother Sandro flee the civil war in Georgia with their father Irakli, leaving Eka, their mother, behind, promising to send for her later. Twenty years later and haunted by memories of the wife who was never able to rejoin him, Irakli returns to their homeland and mysteriously disappears. Sandro goes in search of him but also disappears. In a desperate mission to trace his family, Saba also goes back. He is immediately drawn into a hornet’s nest of intrigue when he attempts to follow a cryptic trail of symbols, messages and passages from a play his father wrote. Pursued by the police, besieged by voices of dead friends and relatives and increasingly embroiled in the dysfunctional lives of his compatriots, he determines, no matter the dangers, to piece together the shattered pieces of his family.
While much of the book deals with suffering and the anguish of families ripped apart, the overriding message is one of hope, humanity and one man’s indomitable drive to prevail against the devastation of war.
Review published in Good Reading Magazine February 2024 issue
gifted by the publisher
"They say you can never go home again. But what if you can? What if you should? What if no matter what you do with your life, you'll somehow always end up in that place you didn't want to leave?"
After fleeing the conflict in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia, Saba Sulidze-Donauri and his family struggle to reconcile the fact that they left their mom behind, unable to get her out. Decades pass, and the death of their mom prompts Saba's dad, Irakli, to return to Georgia—only to go missing, followed by his older brother's mysterious disappearance. Now, it's Saba's turn to search for his fractured family and piece together their cryptic messages.
GREAT FOREST is inspired by Hansel and Gretel and perfectly captures the eerie atmosphere of lost children in a dangerous foreign land. On top of that, there's also an arc of escaped zoo animals due to a flood—inspired by true events—police pursuing the Sulidze-Donauri family, Saba's dreams/hallucinations from relatives' ghosts who perished in war-torn Georgia, and a play.
Encapsulated in all the chaotic goose chases and wild adventures across Georgia is the theme of returning home. The juxtaposition of Irakli's and Saba's homecoming is one of the most fascinating explorations of how war trauma and grief affect one's relationship with their homeland. For some, it's a wish to be buried in the land where your ancestors are, and for others, it's the desire to search for hope after mass destruction.
I especially loved the friendship between Saba and his taxi driver, Nodar, who almost stole the show and reminded me of Samwise Gamgee
"They say you can never go home again. But what if you can? What if you should? What if no matter what you do with your life, you'll somehow always end up in that place you didn't want to leave?"
After fleeing the conflict in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia, Saba Sulidze-Donauri and his family struggle to reconcile the fact that they left their mom behind, unable to get her out. Decades pass, and the death of their mom prompts Saba's dad, Irakli, to return to Georgia—only to go missing, followed by his older brother's mysterious disappearance. Now, it's Saba's turn to search for his fractured family and piece together their cryptic messages.
GREAT FOREST is inspired by Hansel and Gretel and perfectly captures the eerie atmosphere of lost children in a dangerous foreign land. On top of that, there's also an arc of escaped zoo animals due to a flood—inspired by true events—police pursuing the Sulidze-Donauri family, Saba's dreams/hallucinations from relatives' ghosts who perished in war-torn Georgia, and a play.
Encapsulated in all the chaotic goose chases and wild adventures across Georgia is the theme of returning home. The juxtaposition of Irakli's and Saba's homecoming is one of the most fascinating explorations of how war trauma and grief affect one's relationship with their homeland. For some, it's a wish to be buried in the land where your ancestors are, and for others, it's the desire to search for hope after mass destruction.
I especially loved the friendship between Saba and his taxi driver, Nodar, who almost stole the show and reminded me of Samwise Gamgee
This book was so confusing. It drew me in immediately but then was a random chase through Georgia, the past, mysterious clues, and zero resolution. Just weird.
adventurous
emotional
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:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No