Nino HARATISCHWILI

In the novel, the author describes, from the perspectives of several generations of a Georgian family, the entire 20th century with all its twists, dramas, catastrophes, and miracles. Georgia, 1900: it all starts like a fairy tale. Anastasia’s father brings a recipe for the best hot chocolate in the world from his trip to Vienna. However, its consumption has tragic, often fatal consequences. Germany, 2006: Anastasia’s great-granddaughter Nica broke off contact with her family and moved to Berlin. A civil war is currently underway in Georgia, and her niece Brilka, who has traveled to the West, refuses to return to Tbilisi. Nica finds her and tells her the whole family story.

Published by Host, 2020

Nino Haratischwili (* 1983) is a German-speaking playwright, director and novelist of Georgian origin. She has been involved in theatre since she was a student, when she founded a German-Georgian theatre group, for which she wrote plays and directed them. After studying film directing at the Tbilisi State Theatre and Film School, she studied directing at the Theatre Academy in Hamburg, where she has been living since 2003. The family saga The Eighth Life: (for Brilka) from 2014 is her third novel.