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RITES-OF-PASSAGE TALE SKILFULLY EXPLORES ETHNIC TENSIONS
The Independent (London)
January 27, 2014 Monday
First Edition
BYREVIEW BY LUCY POPESCU
Pg. 42
Aka Morchiladze's extraordinary novella opens and closes in Georgia
following the collapse of the Soviet Union. During the civil unrest
that ensues, 24-year-old Gio and his slacker friends discover, if
you're not a member of the "mkhedrioni" militia in Tbilisi there's
little to do except drink, smoke and get laid.
Gio comes from a wealthy family and wants for nothing, but is tired of
his aimless existence and a domineering father who makes most of his
decisions for him. The previous year, Gio had fallen for a beautiful,
melancholy prostitute: "Yana was everything to me. She embodied
something I never even knew I wanted, something I had never even
dreamed of. I think she represented the very thing people live for."
His father disapproved of their relationship and when Yana became
pregnant with his child they were forced to split up.
Now, listless and with nothing better on offer, Gio is persuaded by
his best friend Goglik to drive them across the border to Ganja in
order to buy cheap drugs for an acquaintance. But this is a road trip
with a difference. As darkness falls, Gio unwittingly drives into
Karabakh, a hotly disputed region between Armenia and Azerbaijan,
and the friends are chased and shot at by a menacing group of Azeris
in a 4x4. Taken prisoner, the hapless pair are beaten up and thrown
into a cell with Rafik, an Armenian military commander. In the middle
of a shoot-out, Gio escapes with Rafik, leaving Goglik behind.
Over the next four days, in a remote village, supposedly a guest of
Rafik and his gaggle of Armenian soldiers, Gio reflects on his past,
his family and the girlfriend they refused to accept. He admits to
himself, "If there's one thing I know for sure it's that I don't know
anything." Morchiladze's narrator may be volatile but he's honest.
Despite being in the middle of a war zone, Gio starts to feels more
tranquil. Liberated from familial constraints, he is finally able to
think for himself. When three Russian journalists turn up to write
about the Armenian side of the conflict, Gio realises that he may not
be as free as he had thought and plans a daring and dangerous escape.
Gio's rite of passage through geographical and emotional conflict
is as entertaining as it is illuminating about ethnic tensions in
the region. His increasing cynicism and despair is also emblematic
of Georgia's own strife as various factions fight for control. As
Morchiladze wryly suggests, sometimes the fight for liberty throws
up more limitations than the repression it seeks to escape.
Order for £10 (free p&p) from the Independent Bookshop: 08430 600 030
The Independent (London)
January 27, 2014 Monday
First Edition
BYREVIEW BY LUCY POPESCU
Pg. 42
Aka Morchiladze's extraordinary novella opens and closes in Georgia
following the collapse of the Soviet Union. During the civil unrest
that ensues, 24-year-old Gio and his slacker friends discover, if
you're not a member of the "mkhedrioni" militia in Tbilisi there's
little to do except drink, smoke and get laid.
Gio comes from a wealthy family and wants for nothing, but is tired of
his aimless existence and a domineering father who makes most of his
decisions for him. The previous year, Gio had fallen for a beautiful,
melancholy prostitute: "Yana was everything to me. She embodied
something I never even knew I wanted, something I had never even
dreamed of. I think she represented the very thing people live for."
His father disapproved of their relationship and when Yana became
pregnant with his child they were forced to split up.
Now, listless and with nothing better on offer, Gio is persuaded by
his best friend Goglik to drive them across the border to Ganja in
order to buy cheap drugs for an acquaintance. But this is a road trip
with a difference. As darkness falls, Gio unwittingly drives into
Karabakh, a hotly disputed region between Armenia and Azerbaijan,
and the friends are chased and shot at by a menacing group of Azeris
in a 4x4. Taken prisoner, the hapless pair are beaten up and thrown
into a cell with Rafik, an Armenian military commander. In the middle
of a shoot-out, Gio escapes with Rafik, leaving Goglik behind.
Over the next four days, in a remote village, supposedly a guest of
Rafik and his gaggle of Armenian soldiers, Gio reflects on his past,
his family and the girlfriend they refused to accept. He admits to
himself, "If there's one thing I know for sure it's that I don't know
anything." Morchiladze's narrator may be volatile but he's honest.
Despite being in the middle of a war zone, Gio starts to feels more
tranquil. Liberated from familial constraints, he is finally able to
think for himself. When three Russian journalists turn up to write
about the Armenian side of the conflict, Gio realises that he may not
be as free as he had thought and plans a daring and dangerous escape.
Gio's rite of passage through geographical and emotional conflict
is as entertaining as it is illuminating about ethnic tensions in
the region. His increasing cynicism and despair is also emblematic
of Georgia's own strife as various factions fight for control. As
Morchiladze wryly suggests, sometimes the fight for liberty throws
up more limitations than the repression it seeks to escape.
Order for £10 (free p&p) from the Independent Bookshop: 08430 600 030