Die Katze und der General

Of guilt and atonement, or the lack thereof if there's a war propaganda industry that prevents it. Same as in [b:Das achte Leben 22896424 Das achte Leben (Für Brilka) Nino Haratischwili https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1407775304l/22896424.SY75.jpg 42466516] we meet characters spread across several timelines and between Russia (this time the focus is on Chechnya) and Germany. A dark secret from the Chechen War in the 1990s is haunting a Russian General, and as he meets “Katze”, who shares an uncanny similarity with a ghost of his past, he decides the time has come for a last reckoning. My second Nino Haratischwili, and it's again easy to fall into her stories, but I have to admit I would have preferred a shorter, more focused version of this particular tale. The characters are less likeable, which adds a lot more pressure on the plot, but it ultimately ends slightly lackluster. I was really disappointed when it was revealed that Nura *chose* her death. Making it seem the General had done her a favor. Together with Ada's suicide, there was a lack of female independence in this book.