It's hard to know how to review Vardiashvili's Hard by a Great Forest. It is an absolutely miserable book to read--full of tense, fraught, miserable situations. And yet, the beauty of the ways the Georgian civil war is integrated, the descriptions of the scenes and settings, the fairytale element somehow pulls the reader through despite his or her discomfort. I suppose the core asset of this book is how immersive it is. When you are in it, you are completely part of it.

Saba hasn't been back to Georgia since he fled as a young child with his brother and father to England. His mother was supposed to follow them but never managed to leave. First Saba's father returns to Georgia but when he disappears, Saba's brother follows. Now Saba hasn't heard from either of them and makes his own journey to find out what happened. He quickly realizes he's out of his depth and is unaware of some underlying politics and history related to his family. As he follows his family's path in Georgia, he learns more about his family. Overall, a story about discovering one's family history and the complexities involved. At times it was a little confusing as to what was happening and readers who prefer a straightforward narrative may not like this one.

This book kicked me in the stomach, demolished me and left me curled up by the side of the road. Easily one of the top 10 I've ever read. Very difficult, upsetting and graphically violent in places, hard to read. Still, I literally couldn't put it down. Stayed up much to late to read the last several chapters because I couldn't go to sleep until I knew if Saba and his family would be ok.
There were entire chapters I held my breath through. And I may never completely get over some of the twists at the end.
I knew nothing about the history of Georgia. And now I need to know more and go visit.
I may have been so deeply effected by this novel because I'm living through a war right now, and I had almost forgotten that other regions of the world go through difficult times as well.
Sometimes life just sucks but you can't run away from your destiny.
The NYT reviewer was a bit critical of the language in the novel, calling it purple prose and implying it was a bit over the top. But I loved the descriptiveness and flowery language. I thought it was beautiful.
One of those very rare books that I wish I could forget so I could have the pleasure of rediscovering for the first time.

I went back & forth between really enjoying this book & being bored by it. Some of it felt very disjointed - going between Irakli's play, voices of Saba's family, & other unknown voices. The zoo animals was an interesting addition & I really enjoyed Nodar. Overall, I feel it's me, not the book, that's missing something. That being said - it was just ok.

I have no clear idea how to "rate" this book. It was confounding, at times endearing though it feels strange to say so given how raw and sad it left me feeling. Londoner Sabo returns to his childhood home in Georgia in search of his brother Sandro who arrived their in search of their father Irakli who went there in search of the story of their mother Eka's last days. Sabo is accompanied by the voices of the past, his memories, and a loud irrepressible taxi driver named Nodar who has his own sad tale of loss amid flight from war. Hard By a Great Forest is a novel peppered with fairy tales, deceptions, betrayals and determination. And blood.

I’m giving this one a 4-star rating, but it did veer into a 3-star for me in the last third. I think that could have been tightened up a bit. That said, it was a beautifully written story from a different part of the world. Definitely worth reading.

To be completely honest, I read this book because Tbilisi was on the cover and I love that city. And I'm so glad I did! This was a unique story of a man returning to his lost homeland to find his lost family. The characters were interesting and I enjoyed the Soviet folklore woven throughout the story. I honestly could have used more, but I also think not dragging the story on too long helped make it more powerful. Recommend for a great book set in Georgia!

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I read this novel while traveling. It was difficult to put the book down when I had to make a flight connection. The story is so heartbreaking and compelling. I hope that there is a sequel. I need to know what choices Saba makes for his future and how Nitia fares in life.