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Hard by a Great Forest

By Leo Vardiashvili
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Brief Description
LONGLISTED FOR THE ONDAATJE PRIZE 2025AN OBSERVER BEST NEW NOVELIST FOR 2024SHORTLISTED FOR THE WILBUR SMITH ADVENTURE WRITING PRIZE 2024 ‘A spellbinding achievement’ FINANCIAL TIMES ‘Poignant and often painfully comic’ OBSERVER ‘I gasped, laughed, and wept my way through it’ KHALED HOSSEINI Saba’s father is missing,... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$2499
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A stand-out literary debut from an original new voice, following the fortunes of three surviving family members returning from the UK to the former-Soviet republic of Georgia

A stand-out literary debut from an original new voice, following the fortunes of three surviving family members returning from the UK to the former-Soviet republic of Georgia

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

LONGLISTED FOR THE ONDAATJE PRIZE 2025
AN OBSERVER BEST NEW NOVELIST FOR 2024
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WILBUR SMITH ADVENTURE WRITING PRIZE 2024

‘A spellbinding achievement’ FINANCIAL TIMES
‘Poignant and often painfully comic’ OBSERVER
‘I gasped, laughed, and wept my way through it’ KHALED HOSSEINI

Saba’s father is missing, and the trail leads back to Tbilisi, Georgia.

Arriving in a city he has not seen for more than two decades, where escaped zoo animals prowl the streets and the voices of those left behind beckon him along a path of cryptic clues, Saba embarks on a quest that will lead him into the heart of a lost homeland.

This is a rare, searching tale of home, memory and sacrifice – of one family’s mission to rescue one another, and put the past to rest.

‘Hugely impressive’ NEW EUROPEAN
‘Novels like this might help light the way’ GUARDIAN
'At once a puzzle hunt and an affecting meditation on exile' ECONOMIST

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781526659835

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 30 January 2025

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 24.0mm

Width: 128.0mm

Height: 196.0mm

Weight: 252g

Pages: 352

Collections

Fiction General Fiction Leo Vardiashvili Literary Fiction

About the Author

Leo Vardiashvili came to London with his family as a refugee from Georgia when he was twelve years old. He studied English Literature at Queen Mary University of London. Hard by a Great Forest is his first novel.

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  • Hard by a Great Forest
    AN OBSERVER BEST NEW NOVELIST FOR 2024 SHORTLISTED FOR THE WILBUR SMITH ADVENTURE WRITING PRIZE 2024 ‘A spellbinding achievement’ FINANCIAL TIMES ‘Poignant and often painfully comic’ OBSERVER ‘I gasped, laughed, and wept my way through it’ KHALED HOSSEINI Saba’s father is missing, and the trail leads back to Tbilisi, Georgia. Arriving in a city he has not seen for more...
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