Riana
asked
Leo Vardiashvili:
I love this quote from one of your interviews - "I think it’s Nodar who says: ‘It’s a shell, it kills anyway, it doesn’t matter where it came from. I don’t care if it’s the Russians or Georgians.’ And that kind of sums it up, it doesn’t matter [who is doing the shelling], you’re destroying things, you’re hurting people’s families.” Did you lose any family during the civil war?
Leo Vardiashvili
No, my family was lucky enough not to lose any members directly to the civil war, or the war in South Ossetia (Samachablo), or the war in Abkhazia. But there are many, many Georgians who cannot say the same...
I feel for them, and sympathise with their pain.
Nodar as a character is unusual in the conclusion he has come to - he is obsessed with finding his daughter and as a result he realises that assigning blame brings him no closer to finding her.
That's why he doesn't care who is to blame.
There are many Georgians who do not have that luxury. They wish to assign responsibility for their very real, and often very recent loss. Closure is important, in whatever way they personally come to it.
I feel for them, and sympathise with their pain.
Nodar as a character is unusual in the conclusion he has come to - he is obsessed with finding his daughter and as a result he realises that assigning blame brings him no closer to finding her.
That's why he doesn't care who is to blame.
There are many Georgians who do not have that luxury. They wish to assign responsibility for their very real, and often very recent loss. Closure is important, in whatever way they personally come to it.
More Answered Questions
Riana
asked
Leo Vardiashvili:
I promise this is my last question, Leo. I have been thinking about your characters and their various exploits, and I am burning to know whether you roughly plotted where the characters were heading before hand, OR if the characters led you into writing different situations/locations that you had not planned. I have heard that this can happen. Is it a fair question?
Angela
asked
Leo Vardiashvili:
I just finished the audio version of your book and it earned an extra star, just for the fantastic narration. I am curious- does the author typically have involvement in selecting the narrators and the production of the audio book? Congrats on writing this spectacular novel- I loved it!
Riana
asked
Leo Vardiashvili:
Hello again Leo, I have been re-reading parts of your book. Your story certainly deserves a second read, for the wisdom spoken by various characters. Does this acute observation of life come from your experience of the world? or did you find that once you arrived back in your homeland these wise words woke, vividly prompted from the surroundings, and began speaking in you like lost friends?
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Sep 23, 2024 11:11PM · flag