Reviews

Juja by Nino Haratischwili

maddysbookcase's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

kate66's review against another edition

2.0

I am very aware that some reviewers appear to have a different relationship to this book and to Nino Haratischvili's work but for me there were maybe a few parts around the halfway mark that held my interest otherwise I found it confusing, quite mad in parts and somewhat incomprehensible in others.

I could barely keep up with who the characters all were as they all appeared to be different parts of the same person and all of them were miserable and wallowing in their sadness.

I understand the complexity of this novel and understand it has to be that way but my mother would have put it succinctly - they need to get out, get some fresh air and stop living in their own heads. I'd have to say I found all the characters unlikeable and at least one of them was loathsome. I didn't care about what had happened to them or the action they might take having been persuaded by a book to kill themselves.

I was glad to have finished it but it definitely gave me a headache. The second star is for the small amounts that made some sense to me. Not for me. Too introspective.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advance review copy.

jan_steen's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

mitchk's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Whilst the writing is at time wonderful - especially when we get  to spend extended periods with a character, I found the short chapters and loose ends frustrating. You have to read this slowly, be prepared to absorb sadness and cross decades and time zones! Based on a true story, it’s left me with reflections, and questions - which reminds me of the power of stories. 

timitsut's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

roosmarijn's review

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

melc's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Ok... What to say about this book? It's a ride! At times I loved it at times I hated it. It's ambiguous, poetic, raw and atmospheric. At times hard to understand, at times illuminating with truth. It's about depression, grief, loss, suicide and loneliness. It's about trying to find meaning in the meaningless. It's about how art and literature can speak into pain like nothing else. Can't say I'm anyway near clever enough to understand it all but I found it compulsive reading all the same and it will stay with me.
This honest review is given with thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.

abbie_'s review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

3.5

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my free digital ARC!

Honestly it must be difficult when your magnum opus is published in English first and all your English-speaking audience is expecting is another Eighth Life 😂 I was sort of disappointed in Haratischwili’s second English translation, My Soul Twin, but Juja fared better. This is her debut novel in fact, and I think, depressing as it is, it’s a solid debut though not without a few weaknesses.

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Translated again by Ruth Martin, Juja is told through a variety of perspectives. At its centre is a mysterious little book, written by 17-year-old Jeanne Saré whose tragic suicide then inspired 14 copycats after reading her book Ice Age. The main POVs are ‘Brother’, a vile little man half in love with his own sister, and Laura, a Dutch academic who is semi-coerced into embarking upon a research project focusing on Saré.

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It goes without saying that Juja is filled with awful acts, it’s bleak and explores the darkest recesses of the human mind. The first half of the book was a lot stronger than the second. Sometimes a couple of the POVs felt difficult to distinguish. Their voices felt too similar, and I suppose that may be down to the fact that all of them are experiencing terrible sadnesses. I was definitely intrigued throughout, and was keen to know how all the storylines would come together - which some did more satisfyingly than others.

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Juja is an exploration of the power of storytellings, the idea of myth and finding what we want to find in the literature we consume. The characters are all battling their own demons, and I think their stories are well-developed on their own, but the book stumbles when it comes to tying them together. The mysterious draw of the book, its effect on its readers and the legend of Saré was what I found most compelling.

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Book 4 for #WomenInTranslation month

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Rape, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Incest

w_t_effi's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

miriamschlundt's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25