The Eighth Life (for Brilka) 23.66 € Available for reading
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The Eighth Life (for Brilka)
A gripping family saga scented with chocolate, set against the backdrop of the entire twentieth century, from Tsarist Russia to Berlin after the fall of communism.
Georgia, 1900: It all begins like a fairy tale. A great-great-grandfather returns from a trip to Vienna with a recipe for the best hot chocolate in the world. It’s thick, as black as a stormy night, and utterly irresistible. However, consuming it has tragic, often fatal, consequences… The horrified chocolatier, who, like all Georgians, believes in fairy tales, soon becomes convinced that a curse lies upon his delicious drink. Nevertheless, he passes the recipe on as a family secret to his daughter, Anastasia, who will return to making the chocolate repeatedly throughout her almost century-long life.
Germany, 2006: Anastasia’s great-granddaughter, Nica, has cut off contact with her family and moved to Berlin. A civil war is raging in Georgia, and Nica’s niece, Brilka, on her way to the West, refuses to return to Tbilisi. Nica meets with her and recounts the entire family story. For six generations, the hot chocolate, prepared according to the old family recipe, has brought both comfort and misfortune…
What they’re saying about The Eighth Life (for Brilka)
“Nino Haratischwili is one of the most important voices in contemporary German literature.“
Die Zeit
“A phenomenon in Georgia, Germany, Poland and the Netherlands. Spanning six generations from the early 20th century to the 21st, and visiting Tbilisi, Moscow, London and Berlin, this Georgian saga is a story of cursed love, with humour and touches of magical realism.“
The Guardian
“Novel of the year: Nino Haratischwili's The Eighth Life is a magnificent narrative of love and hate, of the rise and fall of communism—and of a hot chocolate recipe whose secret will only be known to the women of the family.“
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