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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I REALLY wanted to like this, but I just couldn't get into it. I felt that the plot dragged and dragged. That's aside from the fact that I know Georgia well (first visited in 2010, lived there for more than a decade), and the vibe, people and culture never felt right. I'm usually OK with suspension of disbelief and literary license, but something rubbed me the wrong way. It felt like the author, who immigrated away as a child, felt like he was too good for Georgia and leaned into the misery porn aspect. (and I'm not against books that portray negative parts of Georgian history or show the country in a negative light. Both "The Pear Field" and "The Eighth Life" are pretty dark, but I thought they were excellent reads)
Bijzonder en mooi verhaal. Ik wist niet helemaal wat ik kon verwachten, maar het heeft me aangenaam verrast.
Mijn hele bespreking is hier te vinden: https://bettinaschrijft.blogspot.com/2024/04/aan-de-rand-van-een-groot-bos-leo.html
Mijn hele bespreking is hier te vinden: https://bettinaschrijft.blogspot.com/2024/04/aan-de-rand-van-een-groot-bos-leo.html
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
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
Beautiful, humorous prose. About grief and longing for a place and home and family without a trace of maudlin. I loved the characters — gruff and kind and real.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders
Set in Georgia (the country), I would recommend this intense new literary fiction novel, Hard by a Great Forest, to everyone; it is one of my top books of 2024. I actually checked to make sure it’s not a memoir - as it reads as such.
Saba’s family flees Georgia upon declaration of independence from the Soviet Union (right before its collapse). His left-behind mother haunts their family for decades. When his father returns to Georgia only to disappear, followed by his brother, Saba sets out on a journey of self-discovery to find them via a trail of breadcrumbs.
Filled with scenes of poverty, trauma, death, alcoholism, violence, police corruption, and animal cruelty, the book utterly engrossed me with the story, people, and how it would all end. It’s not all negative, though. There’s resilience, community, new friendships, and forgiveness. We learn how to embrace yet overcome trauma - listening to the ghosts of the past, learning from them, and also letting them go when necessary.
If you enjoy history and non-wanderlusty travel books, this one might be for you. I remember very little post-Soviet history from college so I learned a lot. What a breathtaking debut. Blown away.
Saba’s family flees Georgia upon declaration of independence from the Soviet Union (right before its collapse). His left-behind mother haunts their family for decades. When his father returns to Georgia only to disappear, followed by his brother, Saba sets out on a journey of self-discovery to find them via a trail of breadcrumbs.
Filled with scenes of poverty, trauma, death, alcoholism, violence, police corruption, and animal cruelty, the book utterly engrossed me with the story, people, and how it would all end. It’s not all negative, though. There’s resilience, community, new friendships, and forgiveness. We learn how to embrace yet overcome trauma - listening to the ghosts of the past, learning from them, and also letting them go when necessary.
If you enjoy history and non-wanderlusty travel books, this one might be for you. I remember very little post-Soviet history from college so I learned a lot. What a breathtaking debut. Blown away.
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
I enjoyed this book but found the ending a bit clunky and slightly unsatisfying. I appreciated the historical context of Georgia, a country I know little about. The sidekick characters are rich and endearing.
The audiobook is well done. Given there quite a few characters, it felt helpful for each to have a unique voice.
The audiobook is well done. Given there quite a few characters, it felt helpful for each to have a unique voice.
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Really enjoyed the setting and learning more about a location and recent historical events I don't know much about.