The Lack of Light
Nino Haratischwili, trans. from the German by Charlotte Collins and Ruth Martin. HarperVia, $29.99 (736p) ISBN 978-0-06-325361-2
Haratischwili (The Eighth Life) enchants with this monumental novel that follows four friends in Georgia from the end of the Soviet era to the near present. Mercurial, fearless Dina; flirtatious, free-spirited Nene; quiet, studious Ira; and artistic, observant Keto grow up together in the capital city of Tbilisi. In 1987 they are 14 and, with Dina as their ringleader, full of mischief and dreams. Their brothers, however, have no real ambitions or prospects other than small-time extortion and drug trafficking. Nene’s uncle Tapora, the local mob boss, controls much of the city, and Keto’s brother Rati and his crew begin scheming to take over some of Tapora’s territory. Dina, always a shutterbug, becomes a photographer for the Sunday News and covers the war in Abkhazia. In 2019, the three surviving friends reunite in Brussels at a posthumous retrospective of Dina’s photographs. It would be a spoiler to reveal the dramatic and tragic circumstances of her death, which adds poignancy to Haratischwili’s explosive and intimate tale of the women’s struggle to not only survive but thrive. Amid the fast-paced story, the author makes room for the friends’ satisfying reckoning with their history of betrayals and shifting alliances. Readers will find this irresistible. (Sept.)
Details
Reviewed on: 07/11/2025
Genre: Fiction
Compact Disc - 979-8-228-47296-9
MP3 CD - 979-8-228-47297-6
Other - 736 pages - 978-0-06-325363-6