Hard by a Great Forest

A Novel

By: Leo Vardiashvili

Narrated by: Luke Thompson

ONE OF NPR’s “BOOKS WE LOVE" 2024

NAMED ONE OF THE OBSERVER’S 10 BEST NEW NOVELISTS FOR 2024

"The stakes could barely be higher in Leo Vardiashvili’s propulsive page-turner…It’s a spellbinding achievement."—The Financial Times

“Has a commercial-fiction spring in its step.… Vardiashvili also has captured the winking, world-weary humor and magic-realist touches that mark a lot of literature from Europe’s war-torn corners.”—Los Angeles Times

"This novel annihilated me.... Left my heart bruised and battered and aching for more."—Khaled Hosseini, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Kite Runner

“Tender and raw and funny.”—Colum McCann, National Book Award winning author of Let the Great World Spin

"Propulsive, funny, and profound."—Elif Batuman, Pulitzer Prize finalist and bestselling author of The Idiot

“A book like no other, from an imagination like no other.”—Andrew Sean Greer, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Less Is Lost

Amid rubble and rebuilding in a former Soviet land, one family must rescue one another and put the past to rest: a stirring novel about what happens after the fighting is over

Saba is just a child when he flees the fighting in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia with his older brother, Sandro, and father, Irakli, for asylum in England. Two decades later, all three men are struggling to make peace with the past, haunted by the places and people they left behind.

When Irakli decides to return to Georgia, pulled back by memories of a lost wife and a decaying but still beautiful homeland, Saba and Sandro wait eagerly for news. But within weeks of his arrival, Irakli disappears, and the final message they receive from him causes a mystery to unfold before them: “I left a trail I can’t erase. Do not follow it.”

In a journey that will lead him to the very heart of a conflict that has marred generations and fractured his own family, Saba must retrace his father’s footsteps to discover what remains of their homeland and its people. By turns savage and tender, compassionate and harrowing, Hard by a Great Forest is a powerful and ultimately hopeful novel about the individual and collective trauma of war, and the indomitable spirit of a people determined not only to survive, but to remember those who did not.

©2024 Leo Vardiashvili (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“Vardiashvili’s heartbreaking debut novel lays bare the effects that displacement can have over generations and illuminates the resilience of those who have suffered and still found their way to happiness.”—The Washington Post

“Cunning and unstinting, humanist and self-aware…Evoke[s] a thorough understanding of war, escape and violence… reflecting the cyclical nature of familial death and individual reconstitution. The unstable way we return home.”—The New York Times

“Has a commercial-fiction spring in its step.… Vardiashvili also has captured the winking, world-weary humor and magic-realist touches that mark a lot of literature from Europe’s war-torn corners.”—The Los Angeles Times

Amazing Intro, Dies in the middle, Shocking ending

I picked up this book after hearing the first few pages. I quit about 2/3 through because it was tedious and boring. The end is scaring.

I tried so hard....

to like this book. I visited Tbilisi in 1991; I have friends in Tbilisi; I'm a little bit familiar with Tibilisi. I really wanted to enjoy this book. Instead, I found it dark and disturbing. The transitions between real and imaginary, between present day and past, were difficult to follow. I found myself depressed and confused while listening to it. The story line was dark, confusing and disjointed, juggling characters, places, and situations to the point that I lost interest...and, yes, failed to finish the book. With 4 hours to go, I just couldn't listen any more. It failed to intrigue me, failed to keep me invested in an outcome.

I'm sorry that my opinion isn't more upbeat and encouraging, but the book just wasn't.... wasn't so many things I wanted it to be.

Best narrator ever.

Best narration—Luke Thompson is my favorite. He makes text come alive—I’ve listened to books solely because he’s the reader.

Wreath of War

This book is about damages inflicted by war to people and places. Not an easy read but a great way to understand peoples’s sorrows from the comfort of your house. It is a sad story it definitely worth reading. The voice performance is excellent.

Incredible debut novel

I am a reader and listener of many fiction books. This is a masterpiece piece story narrated in a masterful way.

Evocative and deeply moving

This just might be the Great Georgian Novel. Beautifully written and perfectly paced, it brings to life the heart and history of this splendid small country. I’ve been to Georgia many times, and have dear friends there. This extraordinary place and culture deserve the attention, appreciation, and protection of the world. I hope this brilliant book helps make that happen. The narration, by the way, is superb. Highly recommended!

So many stories in one!

Loved it all. Gripping from the start. So many stories told at once, yet woven into a brilliant tapestry. Excellent performance!