Georgia – the country!

Georgian women are the subject of an epic novel, a bildungsroman film, an ancient Greek play, a television series, and even an opera! I didn’t purposely go looking for works by and about Georgian women, but those are what showed up for me as I traveled to Georgia while staying at home. Let’s start with the novel.

The first of seven generations of women in The Eighth Life by Nino Haratischvili face Lavrentiy Beria, Joseph Stalin's fellow Georgian, and each succeeding generation has a new threat to overcome. This nine hundred and some page novel (I’m not the only person to be reminded of War and Peace) achieves an impressive 4.52 score out of almost 7000 ratings on Goodreads. It is well worth reading if you have the time! Because the book brings up both Stalin and Beria, I’ll note here that the dark comedy The Death of Stalin (currently on Netflix) is not anywhere close to accurate, but it depicts the downfall of Beria. It is irreverent enough that it was banned in Russia. More information on Beria can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbTwOHMp0ps. An interview with author Nino Haratischvili can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NMWfosgO_c

In Bloom, a dramatic Georgian movie following the development of two fourteen-year-old girls, is based on filmmaker Nana Ekvtimishvili's experiences. I agree with the Kanopy review that it exhibits “an impeccable flair for subtle narrative--including the most imaginative use of a gun in recent memory.” I watched it on DVD from the Los Angeles County Library and it is also available on Kanopy.

Medea might be the most famous of Georgian women. There are many fascinating options to get a perspective on her and consider her actions helping Jason steal the Golden Fleece and reacting to Jason’s unfaithfulness. Because I had already seen Jason and the Argonauts (the TV series) and read the Euripedes play as part of my masters in English, this time I listened to the opera, shocking Allan (“You listen to opera now?!?”) Here are links to choose from:

· Jason and the Argonauts (2000 TV miniseries, part 1 with part 2 following): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRe_-tkxA8E

· Jason and the Argonauts (1963 movie): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14rK5zBr1lU

· A recording of the opera Medea: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HTlS0GSn98

· The Medea of Euripedes translated by Gilbert Murray: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/35451/35451-h/35451-h.htm

· The Italian film Medea (this one doesn't have that all important “deus ex machina” scene at the end where we see that the gods are on Medea's side): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CVsrc7cu_o

I’ve eaten at two Georgian restaurants and there are several more in California I want to visit. My first Georgian food was at Bevri in Palo Alto. Kristen and I took her boyfriend’s parents to dinner and we tried many things. We particularly liked the appetizer platter with beet pkhali (sort of a pâté), spinach pkhali, eggplant rolls, satsiva (chicken in walnut sauce), and shoti (Georgian bread). I’ve also eaten at Khinkali House in Glendale with a colleague and loved the mushroom dumplings and lentil kofta (similar to falafel but with lentils and bulgar). If you can’t get out right now, here are some recipes to try: https://georgianrecipes.net/

Other great online resources from Georgia include:

· National dances and songs from the Georgian ensemble Erisioni: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yr3adcXjv9M

· Short piano pieces by Giya Kancheli, a Georgian composer. You might recognize these from movies you've seen or just enjoy them for the beautiful piano music they are: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWuWiPRmSlQ

· A sampling of Georgian artists (it is worth the time it takes for the pictures to load): https://georgiastartshere.com/12-georgian-painters-to-know-enjoy-and-appreciate/

The beauty of Georgia and options for a great trip can be seen at https://www.thecrazytourist.com/15-best-places-visit-georgia/. When this pandemic is over, you might want to plan travel to Georgia using your local travel advisor. Shout out to my favorite travel advisor, Kaitlin Darnell at Laura's Travel in Redlands. May the travel industry survive and thrive. May we all survive, thrive, recognize our mutual humanity, learn to deal with our conflicts, and allow peace and health to flourish in Georgia and throughout the world.

Photo Credit: Iman Gozal @imangm https://unsplash.com/photos/5iQWgow3_S0

Note: A web search of the word “Georgia” is more likely to lead you to the state than the country. Try searching for Sakartvelo or Saqartvelo instead. It also works to search for the capitol Tbilisi. The people are called Kartvelian.