Nana Ekvtimishvili's debut novel in The Calvert Journal's 10 best eastern European books of 2020
Nana Ekvtimishvili's debut novel swept national literary prizes and was translated into English this year. Photo: Irma Sharikadze.
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Author and filmmaker Nana Ekvtimishvili's award-winning debut novel The Pear Field has been named by The Calvert Journal among the publication's top 10 books from Eastern Europe this year.
Compiled earlier this month, the list of top literary releases from the region in 2020 features the Georgian author's work, awarded three Georgian prizes on its release in 2015 and made available for readers in the United Kingdom in November.
The novel was described by organisers of its UK launch as an "unflinching picture of post-Soviet Georgian life" through the experiences of an 18-year-old protagonist in a school for disabled children on the outskirts of Tbilisi. It was picked for The Calvert Journal selection that "captures the variety and intensity of an historic year", literary curators of the publication said.
From folk myths to absurdist short stories, these are the books we loved from 2020https://t.co/lhlsIBcVJb
— The Calvert Journal (@calvertjournal) December 4, 2020
Set in the 90s in the outskirts of Tbilisi, in a residential school for children with disabilities and abandoned children, filmmaker Nana Ekvtimishvili’s debut novel is a coming-of-age story as much as a tale of survival" - The Calvert Journal
In her interview with the publication that focuses on art, culture and social life in "The New East", Ekvtimishvili said the story of the protagonist had been inspired by her childhood life next to the school described in the novel.
The author, who has also been highlighted for her work in cinema through screenings of her co-directorial feature My Happy Family at the Sundance and Berlinale festivals, said in the interview she wanted to "let readers into this world" of underprivileged children in the post-Soviet Georgia.
The Pear Field earned the author the Saba Award in 2016, with the novel also selected for the Iliauni Literary Award and the Litera Prize, completing a full sweep of major literary awards in Georgia.
Translated by Elizabeth Heighway, the novel is now published by Peirene Press for English-speaking readers.