This is a large book, and not a structured one exactly -- apparently the author's intention was originally to write something picaresque, but it morphed. It's delightfully narrative: the narrator talks about his uncle Sandro of the village Chegem in Abkhazia, and each tale gets sidetracked from its sidetracks so we travel back and forth in time and round and round in every circle of village life -- and Soviet life, including a couple of meetings with Stalin.

The lack of discernable structure means it doesn't really pull you forward with that desperate urge to find out what happened next (there's no great goal to achieve or terrible fate to be averted; it's more an extended series of slices of life) but it is easy to dip in and out of and the narrative voice is delightful to read.

(Read for my new Around the world in 203 books project.) ( )