Roses Down the Barrel of a Gun: Georgia: Love and Revolution

by Jo Seaman

Georgia 2001. "Your mission, Jo, should you choose to accept it, is to find out what young Georgians want," said the man from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, or words to that effect. "We're keen to know what will happen when President Shevardnadze moves on." Jo Seaman went to the South Caucasus as director of the British Council in Georgia at a time of political uncertainty and turmoil. In attempting to fulfill her mission of cultural diplomacy she rubs shoulders with ballerinas and border guards, ambassadors and activists, ministers and musicians, despots and dodgy officials. Jo's intimate descriptions of a culture only relatively recently emerged from the shadow of the Iron Curtain are underpinned with a genuine warmth and compassion for the Georgian people. A consummate diplomat, Jo needs all her skills as she ventures out into the fraught and often amusing sphere of international relations, and is drawn into the heady events of the Rose Revolution. And life at home is far from uneventful...

392 pages, Paperback

Published September 23, 2019

About the author

Jo Seaman's parents travelled to follow job opportunities and Jo grew up in Nigeria, Northern Ireland, South East London and Australia. This gave her a love of meeting new people and seeing interesting places. Unsurprisingly, she was drawn to an international career. Jo worked for the British Council for almost 30 years, firstly in London and Manchester, with short assignments all over Africa, Asia and the former Soviet Union. She then lived in Egypt, Georgia, Pakistan, Jamaica and France before returning to the UK. She is married. She and her husband live in Dorset, have various rescue pets and are trying to be environmentally friendly to atone for all the flying about. Her travels and adventures have given her a rich source of material for her writing.

“Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.” Maya Angelou

Reviews

[Em · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ex-pat gossip in book format (and a few familiar faces have cameos). Interesting view from the ground of the Rose Revolution

[Naheed Maalik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jo Seaman's book Roses Down the Barrel of a Gun: Georgia: Love and Revolution is non-fiction written in the style of an exciting novel and at the pace of an easy read.
You want to read through quickly and yet savour the descriptions of a beautiful conflict-torn country with equally beautiful people whose stories Jo has skilfully weaved through the book.
Having worked with Jo, I know her dedication to and interest in any country she's worked in. Her warmth, humour and attention to detail shine through as she tells the story of her time in Georgia. She provides readers with insight and some understanding of a country with a violent and coloured history that has now managed to pull itself up and is popular with tourists, especially from the Middle East.
Also interesting to read are Jo's accounts of setting up an office where bare essentials are missing, working with enthusiastic but minimal staff, and dealing with a particular bureaucratic way of management in many countries going through political turbulence.
Alongside Georgia's story runs her own, of a spouse who's finding it challenging to settle in Georgia, and then finding love again.
Roses Down the Barrel of a Gun: Georgia: Love and Revolution is a book that you'll race through and may want to pick up again for a slower read.

[Jelger Groeneveld · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book which accurately depicts where Georgia came from in the latter years of Shevardnadze-era and where it went to after the Rose Revolution of 2003, from the perspective of British Council Director Jo Seaman. Also a good read for novices into Georgia. Anyone who has a long term experience with Georgia recognizes so much, both in culture and transition of the country, the actors in the field and so on. I spotted a few minor flaws, of factual nature, but I won't take that down from the rating as it is not really the point.

Most importantly the book reads very easy away, in novel style while it is essentially non-fiction. Just couldnt stop flipping the pages. It doesn't happen very often with me, but this is one of the rare books of this size that I've actually read in less than one week

Well done! And thus highly recommendable.

And lastly, of course I bought this book at the best bookstore in Tbilisi, Prospero's Books, right nextdoor to the British Council (which relocation the author took care of).

[Beka Kurmashvili · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an accurate description of late 90s Georgia. It’s like travelling back in time.

Thanks very much for writing this book Jo. It widened my horizons :) and subsequently already improved my life:

I started paying parking attendants and feel good about it instead of avoiding them and getting annoyed.

I realised, we Georgians love Russians and just have a little problem with their government officials.

And I’m copying the process of your decision making (for example doing a risk assessment, who knew something like that existed. You guys can tell I’m Georgian :) ).

I’ll stop here, don’t want to spoil the read for others.

All the best.

P.S.: Lucy thanks for a wonderful birthday present. I’ll be ordering one for Morag and Justine.

[acl jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and previously had very little knowledge of the situation in Georgia during those years. It was written in a way that was informative yet very enjoyable to read . I felt I really got to know Jo the author through this book and I am full of admiration for her working in a country that was so unstable and challenging yet clearly so beautiful and rewarding in so many ways . I would love to visit Georgia one day!!

[Fiona Bergmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful book. This is an autobiography, a travel journal, a love story and a historical and political novel all rolled into one. Jo takes us on an adventure around this fascinating region and gives us a personal insight into a remarkable story of a peaceful revolution against all odds. Georgia is now high up on my bucket list - and not just for the wine!

[Anne Léa · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an adventure! Personal challenges, History in motion, beautiful landscapes and local traditions, great people....and love, all intertwined to make Jo Seaman's account of her years in Georgia during the Rose Revolution a most enjoyable as well as informative read.

[Katherine Seaman · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting read into a colourful and exciting country. Jo delves into the culture and politics of Georgia whilst including humour, personal struggles and moments of joy. Highly recommended.

[Sarah L · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really great read!

I knew nothing about this book when I started but learning about working for the British Council, living in Tiblisi in Georgia and the events of the author's life while doing both, made for a fascinating read. Couple that with being in the midst of a peaceful revolution (if there is such a thing) after electoral fraud and I was hooked!
The style is chatty and engaging, Jo gains your interest and focus from the start and I found that I was always keen to learn the next event, whether it be what she was developing as her role at the British Council, her travels around the region or the changes in her personal life. All are related in a clear and honest style that made for a really engaging read. I devoured this book and would love to know her later postings developed - although they'd have to go some to beat the events that occurred in Georgia. Well worth a read - I really enjoyed it.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part history lesson, part memoir, wholly immersive, this book takes a deep dive into what life was like for an expat living in post Soviet Georgia leading up to the political upheaval of the Rose Revolution. I knew nothing about Georgia prior to reading this book, and by the end had learnt a ton about it’s politics and culture. The author’s clear love for the country and people made me want to add Georgia to my travel bucket list.

[ericabooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

roses down the barrel of a gun - jo seaman

review - 4/5🌟

roses down the barrel of a gun documents jo’s new job as a director of the british council in georgia throughout a time of political uncertainty and turmoil. Throughout this time, jo develops a genuine warmth and compassion for the georgian people.

I enjoyed reading this book and had no previous knowledge of the situation in georgia during those years and quite frankly didn’t know where georgia was before reading this book! Jo dives into the culture and politics of georgia whilst including humour, joy and struggles and I felt I got to know the author whilst reading this book.

Her writing makes this a thoroughly enjoyable and engaging read & I will certainly be on the look out for more of this authors books!

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I went to Tbilisi in Georgia in 2019. Having read Jo’s excellent book how I wish I had gone earlier and how I am reminded I must go again , travel more broadly and before too much longer .
The tale is a fascinating view of life in country full of history and promise but lacking in direction under ex soviet leadership yearning for “European” style security , infrastructure and a regular electric supply . The culture is old , sometimes very old and still very visible from the ancient sunken wine stores to the hanging wooden balconies . The people young intelligent , dynamic .
The book takes you on helter skelter journey from reinvigorating one and setting up another British Council office abroad trying to bring local people and merge pomp and circumstances with passion and drive , and virtually no finance or resources . It quite a ride and a personal tale of overcoming all manner of obstacles before experiencing - quite literally - the Rose revolution .
Signs are good Georgia is heading in the right direction , stable and well run , partly at least influenced by Jo and her team and the opportunities they opened up for the young movers and shakers who are overseeing the dawn of a new era. Read the book , then go

[Ksusha Demchenko · Rating 3 out of 5]

Книга про життя в Сакартвело (історична назва Грузії) очима британки, яка там очолювала British Council в 2001-2005 р. Книга класна, я дізналась тонну цікавого про те, що тут було і як лихі 90ті затягнулись аж до лихих 2000х. Які ж картли близькі нам по історії, майндсету і волі до свободи🙌

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

5/10 Bought this book whilst on holiday in Tbilisi and started it immediately, keen to learn more about the 21st century history of this fascinating country. It was a very interesting topic and therefore worth reading, but I felt that the writing let it down and I was happy to finish the book.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating!

A combination of the recent history of Georgia's fight for independence, the issues arround setting up a new office, and a personal story. I enjoyed it very much.

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the description of this period in Georgian history!

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative book on Georgia leading up to and at the time of the Revolution. A page-turner and very nice to read.

[Gareth James · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was expecting an introduction to the country and to learn something about the region but I gave up 10 chapters in as there was more “expat gossip” than insights