In 1997,when he was just a child, Saba fled war-torn Georgia along with his brother and father. They ended up in the UK, but nearly two decades later Saba is forced to return to his homeland in search of his brother and father, who had returned there and disappeared. In some ways, this is an adventurous quest novel, not something I'd typically pick up. But it is also very definitely literary fiction and it's short-listing for the Barker Prize, a carefully curated collection of books which should have made the Booker Prize longlist compiled by @gygoldenreviewer, put it straight to the top of my TBR. I ended up really enjoying it for its depiction of the impact of war, conflict and displacement, its portrayal of the realities of life in post -Soviet Georgia, and for its innovative storytelling, particularly the integration of the voices from the past in Saba's head. It also gains some bonus points for a fantastic side character, Nodar, whose imaginative curses, relationship with his wife, and depth of love for his child will remain abiding memories. Another aspect of this of this novel which I enjoyed was the juxtaposition of the real - things like the impacts of civil war and of corruption - with the otherworldly/fairy tale like elements - things like clues to tracking down Saba's father and brother mysteriously appearing via graffiti, radio broadcast and his father's unpublished manuscript, plus the wandering, flooded out, zoo animals (even though this event actually occurred it felt very "fairytaleish"), the forest motif, and some of the author's stylistic and linguistic choices, including, of course, the title. All in all, a great reading experience and a book that would have been totally at home on the Booker longlist. 

This book left me speechless. At a time when we are witnessing the genocide of the Palestinians, this story was another reminder of the cruelty and absurdity of war. Of its utter destructiveness but also of people's resilience that seems to go beyond what's humanly possible. The author explores all of this so masterfully, using a mix of strong chatacter development, humor, supernatural elements, and not sugarcoating anything. (This book was a lot darker and includez more detailed descriptions of deadly physical violence than what I generally read. So if that's you as well, I definitely recommend reading the content warnings.)

I didn’t know anything about Georgia before reading this and learned a lot. A propulsive, emotional story that has just the right blend of tragedy and triumph in the end. 

This novel is heart-wrenchingly poignant, moving, and beautifully written.

I enjoyed the characters, who were well developed over the course of the book with some emotional reveals about their past, and their connections with one another. 

The plot progressed at a reasonable pace to be both immersive yet with steady direction. I'd describe the pace as relatively slow; but, there was enough suspense and curiosity that I never lost track of what the goal was supposed to be. I don't want to say anything about the ending to avoid spoilers, other than it wasn't what I expected. 

I read this via audiobook, which was well done and easy to understand. I found it helpful for the pronunciations of words; although, the accents could have been a bit more regionally accurate.

I'm giving this book 4 stars instead of 5 because it was depressing, although that to be expected given its subject matter. 

I love the sense of place in this book, and the characters are interesting, but at the end of it all, I'm not sure what it make of the story.