Scribe UK staff will take a reading day on November 7 to immerse themselves in translated epic The Eighth Life, which booksellers have dubbed ‘A War and Peace for the 21st century.’
A sensation across Europe, The Eighth Life by Nino Haratischvili is a 1000-page epic that's sold over 300,000 copies since it was first published, and November 14 marks its publication in the UK. Telling the story of four generations of a Georgian family living through the tumultuous Soviet century, it is a remarkable achievement in fiction: an unputdownable novel and a testament to the power of literature to connect us to history. The book is so monumental that it required two translators — Charlotte Collins and Ruth Martin — working intensively for months to complete it.
Scribe UK will be giving its staff the day off on November 7 so that they can read it in its entirety. November 7 marks the anniversary of the Russian Revolution and is the perfect occasion to spend a day being transported back in time to this period. It's also a good moment to take a break from the frantic lead-up to Christmas and remind oneself of the joy of settling down with a great novel for some uninterrupted reading time.
The book's editor Philip Gwyn Jones says ‘I really believe that a thousand-page Great Georgian Novel could be the one book that gets thousands of desperate British readers (and booksellers) through this hard winter intact, with their belief in the power of storytelling fully restored - all they have to do is let themselves fall into the pillowy embrace of this bewitching book of doomed romances and political upheavals. Revolution rarely feels as satisfying as this.'
Scribe UK MD Sarah Braybrooke says 'Everyone in the Scribe team has already read at least part of the book, but only a couple of people (including the books' editors and publicist, it must be said!) have finished it so far. The whole team will be taking November 7 to curl up and enjoy finishing it.
Publicity and Marketing Manager Adam Howard says 'There's no wrong way to read The Eighth Life, but we think lots of people are going to be curling up with it this Christmas and bingeing it over long, indulgent holiday evenings. We'd be amiss not to do the same ourselves to celebrate its release.'
Haratischvili says 'It's such a great honor to be able to share my novel with British readers. Before publishing The Eighth Life in Germany, I would never have dared to dream that so many people from different countries would be passionate about my story and the history of my country. Thanks to the work of two fantastic translators, British readers now have a chance to read it too. I cannot wait to hear reader reactions from the UK.'
Early feedback from the UK trade has been positive, with one Waterstones bookseller saying 'I absolutely loved it. It was a spellbinding family saga and the story is so gripping that you don't realise that the end will come so quickly ... a War and Peace for the 21st century.'
If you'd like to join us on our readalong, let us know by tagging us on Twitter and Instagram and using the hashtag #TheEighthLifeReadalong