Nana Ekvtimishvili's debut novel in EBRD Literature Prize longlist

Author and film director Nana Ekvtimishvili's debut novel The Pear Field is in the longlist for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development's 2021 Literature Prize.

The book, which recently reached English-language readers with an online launch, is one of 10 works selected from regions where EBRD has operations for representing "outstanding works of storytelling".

In the longlist along with works from Eastern Europe and the Balkan region, The Pear Field brings to the selection its 18-year-old protagonist Lela, who lives in a school for intellectually disabled children.

Through a look at her character, Ektvimishvili introduces to readers a view on life on the margins of society in the unforgiving post-Soviet transformation in Georgia, inspired by childhood memories from the author.

• See the full longlist of EBRD Literature Prize 2021

A description of the novel for the UK launch event in November said it was "[i]nterspersing vivid snapshots from Lela’s past with the turbulent present" and paint[ing] an unflinching picture of post-Soviet Georgian life".

Translated from Georgian by Elizabeth Heighway, The Pear Feld was published by Peirene Press for its introduction to English-speaking literature enthusiasts.

It boasts a full sweep of awards from the Georgian scene, with the Saba Award, Iliauni Literary Award and the Litera Prize since its original publication in 2015 by Sulakauri Publishing.

The next phase for EBRD Literature Prize will be the selection of finalists from the longlist on May 3, with the ultimate winner to be announced later the same month.