The Eighth Life
It is not idle hyperbole to say The Eighth Life by Nino Haratischvili is the War and Peace of the 20th century, as well as the best piece of international fiction in the 21st. In its original German edition, The Eighth Life garnered wide acclaim and several awards, and became a bestseller upon publication in three other European countries. Published earlier this year in English, Haratischvili’s massively sprawling tale of one Georgian family’s harrowing experiences in the “Red Century” joins the ranks of the best historical sagas in literature.
Beginning with an ominous chocolate recipe handed down from a Georgian chocolatier to his spirited daughter, Stasia, The Eighth Life sets the foreboding tone for a century of earth-shattering revolution, war, death, and devastation—both physically and emotionally. Niza is the last of her long matrilineal line, penning this engulfing missive to a niece she barely knows but seeks to give the gift of the “eighth life,” a knowledge of their shared history that binds everything together into a seemingly endless loop of love, loss, pain, hope, and, yes, chocolate.
Replete with rich and deeply drawn characters navigating the maelstrom of revolutionary Russia and the horrors of Stalin’s Soviet Union, the novel begins with women and ends with them, as well. Haratischvili does a great service in portraying the experiences of women in war, as well as the price many paid for the men they chose. There are gut-churning episodes, to be sure, but most of Haratischvili’s female protagonists find a way to push forward through unimaginably bleak scenarios. One quibble is that many of her male characters often lack the mental fortitude and emotional intelligence of their female counterparts, coming off as extremely fragile and weak willed in too many instances.
Overall, The Eighth Life is a 944-page opus that grabs you by the head and heart from the first page and refuses to let go. Readers will enjoy this delicious blend of family and 20th century history-in-the-making as seen through the eyes of several generations. After the last page, you will wish there were more… just like that last piece of chocolate. Highly recommended.
