Das achte Leben

An epic family saga about the Georgian Jaschi family, who's many generations are seemingly haunted by an old family-owned chocolate recipe. At the same time the novel is a portrait of Georgia's tumultuous, war-ridden and rebellious 20th century, which begs to question if not Georgia's gruesome fate and continuous struggles against Russian oppression is the reason for the family curse.

All in all the story covers 6 generations, and follows along with 8 family members (from Stasia and Christine, to Kostja and Kitty, to Elene, then Daria and Niza, and finally Brilka). The 1300 pages stretch a bit, but Haratischwili doesn't get sidetracked like Tolstoy, and has created an engaging patchwork of characters, or loves and tragedies, of politics, betrayals and dreams.

As in all multi-generational family stories, it seems a lot easier to love those that you meet early on. But nevertheless, the ending with Niza and Brilka did get me slightly emotional. So yes, i really enjoyed this.