'A harrowing, heartening and utterly engrossing epic novel ... astonishing ... A subtle and compelling translation by Charlotte Collins and Ruth Martin (on the heels of a Georgian version earlier this year) should make this as great a literary phenomenon in English as it has been in German.'
-- Maya Jaggi * The Guardian *
'The Eighth Life ... is a lavish banquet of family stories that can, for all their sorrows, be devoured with gluttonous delight. Nino Haratischvili's characters ... come to exuberant life. Her huge novel ... shows a double face, its crushing pain and loss nonetheless conveyed with an artful storyteller's sheer joy in her craft.'
-- Boyd Tonkin * The Financial Times *
'Elegant ... It is a triumph of both authorship and painstaking translation ... The Eighth Life is an unforgettable love letter to Georgia and the Caucasus, to lives led and to come, and to writing itself.'
-- Catherine Taylor * The Economist *
'It is an ambitious undertaking, but the author retains a firm grasp on her material and knows exactly how she wishes to present the human cost and consequences to a family facing war and colliding ideologies ... I finished by applauding the vision, boldness and passionate commitment.'
-- Elizabeth Buchan * Daily Mail *
'Elegant ... it demonstrates a technical mastery, impressively sustained ... The Eighth Life is more than a family saga: it is an ode, a lamentation, a monument - to Georgia, its people, its past and future.'
-- Bryan Karetnyk * TLS *
'This is a long, rewarding novel ... ably translated through a collaborative process. It makes for an engrossing book. Haratischvili has created a fascinating cast (and it's easy to imagine it as a television series) whose lives illuminate some of the greatest events of the 20th century.'
-- Declan O'Driscoll * The Irish Times *
'The Eighth Life is capacious, voluble, urgent, readable, translated heroically and sparklingly by Charlotte Collins and Ruth Martin.'
-- Julian Evans * The Telegraph *
'An epic read that will leave you 100% satisfied.'
* Stylist *
'If you love Georgia read this.'
-- Olia Hercules, author of
Mamushka'It is a great read. If you love historical sagas and romances, this is the book for you.'
* ABC Radio National
The Bookshelf *
'The Eighth Life is the sort of book that sweeps you along, sustaining a tremendous feeling of urgency, as if the narrator ... is desperate to get it all out, get it all on paper, before the family curse catches up with her.'
-- Andrew Fuhrmann * The Saturday Paper *
'The Eighth Life is the saga of a Georgian family - its intricate, interconnected lives, its losses, triumphs, sadnesses, and great loves, set against the sweep of Russian history across the twentieth century ... an unforgettable, rich and textured piece of literature.'
-- Georgia Brough * Readings *
'The novel of the year.'
* Der Spiegel *
'Nino Haratischvili is one of the most important voices in contemporary German literature.'
* Die Zeit *
'Everybody requires a new, vigorous narrative of European ideals, of the European past ... Nino Haratischvili has created this narrative in her new novel. The German novel of the year. Phenomenal.'
-- Volker Weidemann * Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung *
'Nino Haratischvili has written an epic: a novel which ranges over all of a century and half of the globe; a book within which - as in the infant's experience - everything is only love and dread. It is a coup, a gift for us from the contradictions and grandeur of the East!'
* Suddeutsche Zeitung *
'Not only in its length does this novel resemble the work of Boris Pasternak. You will not want to put it down. The red century devours a family, and history comes with a pinch of chocolate - Like Water for Chocolate, even.'
* Brigitte *
'If you only read one book this year make sure it is The Eighth Life ... Intricately crafted and addictive, The Eighth Life is an extraordinary, dramatic and compelling read ... The ambitious, vivid and unflinching translation from the original German by Ruth Martin and Charlotte Collins is in itself a work of art, and deserves to win every translation prize going.'
* BookBlast *
'This is one for long-haul flights or the Christmas lock-in.'
-- Bridget Hourican * Cara *
'For those who enjoy a big story, that has great characters that will keep you engaged to the very end.' FOUR STARS
* Manly Daily *
'The Eighth Life is a saga. An epic saga ... Truly absorbing, it feels like a dozen little books contained in one.'
-- Rebecca Varcoe * Frankie Magazine *
'The Eighth Life is a sprawling family saga, to be savoured for its grandeur, scope and scale ... Interwoven with love, loss, trumps and tragedy are the uncanny impacts of a family recipe for divine hot chocolate, which just might carry a curse ... enthralling and satisfying.' FIVE STARS
-- Maureen Eppen * Good Reading *
'If it's a family saga you're seeking, look no further than this grand tale, ably translated by Collins and Martin. The author gracefully interweaves the historical backdrop of her novel with the lives of her characters, thus adding depth to her story. Heartily recommended.' STARRED REVIEW
* Library Journal *
'This multi-award winning novel is a riveting read ... You too often want to pause and appreciate delightful twists, intriguing concepts, the catch-your-breath unexpected.'
-- Judith Armstrong * The Australian *
'Spanning six generations of a family between 1900 and the 21st century, its characters travel to Tbilisi, Moscow, London and Berlin in an epic story of doomed romance that combines humour with magic realism.'
-- Marta Bausells * The Guardian, 'Ten of the best new books in translation' *
'The scope is Tolstoyan: the drama of War and Peace, the emotion of Anna Karenina ... A sprinkling of Allendesque magic realism is added, along with a handful of spirits and a secret recipe for delicious and addictive hot chocolate that appears to curse those who drink it.'
-- Lizzy Siddal * The Riveter *
'The Eighth Life is capacious, voluble, urgent, readable, translated heroically and sparklingly by Charlotte Collins and Ruth Martin.'
-- Julian Evans * Stuff *
