Details:

Page: 188
Format: 135 x 195 mm
Word: ≈ 28 000
ISBN: 9789941377211

Journey to Karabakh

Author: Aka Morchiladze

The story is set in an aftermath of the first Nagorno-Karabakh War. The plot doesn’t center on the war itself, but rather on a pseudo-adventurous journey of two young Georgian men, full of setbacks.

A civil war is raging in Tbilisi, with paramilitary groups rummaging the city. The Georgian youth finds it hard to imagine a future—for themselves or for the country. In the midst of this chaos, a Tbilisi boy named Goglik, feeling lost and purposeless, persuades his friend Gio to drive him to Azerbaijan chasing a lead on drugs.

The two lose their way and by nightfall, accidentally end up in Karabakh. They fall into the hands of Azerbaijani forces and are taken captive. Soon, they are separated. While Gio works on a plan to rescue his friend, Goglik, held in captivity, has time to talk to his “hosts,” reflect on Georgia’s and the region’s difficult condition, and reconsider his own path.

A girlfriend is waiting for Gio in Tbilisi. As for Goglik, he hardly has any reason to return.

Press:

Gio’s rite of passage through geographical and emotional conflict is as entertaining as it is illuminating about ethnic tensions in the region. His increasing cynicism and despair are also emblematic of Georgia’s own strife as various factions fight for control.

Lucy Popescu, The Independent

What Morchiladze’s novel has probably set in the minds of its readers is the idea of the Caucasus region as a space of political and cultural absurdity.

Süddeutsche Zeitung

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