Stories I Stole from Georgia

by WendellSteavenson (Author)

• New

  Paperback
  2004

  $18.14

  Fed up with working for Time magazine in London, Wendell Steavenson spent two years in the former Soviet republic of Georgia. Stories I Stole captures, the exuberance of a fledgling nation of local despots, mountain tribes, blood feuds, and an unlimited flow of red wine. From President Shevardnadze's rigged elections to horse races high in the mountains; from the eerie roadside artifacts of the Soviet era to the farcical power outages in the dead of winter, here is Georgia: weird, invigorating, and still coming to grips with the legacy of its most famous son, Joseph Stalin. Far more than a travel book, this is a scintillating menagerie of true stories peopled by vivid--and sometimes insane--characters. In the beach resort of Sukhumi, once the destination of every fashionable Russian but now wracked by civil war, Wendell plays hangman with a secret policeman. In the capital Tbilisi--ensconced in Levan's Magic Room or lounging in the steam baths--she hears about the latest duel or kidnapping. In Khevsureti, the meadows are dotted with blue-painted beehives and yellow flowers, while just over the border, there is war in Chechnya.

• Used

  Paperback
  2003

  $24.07

  'A joyous, perceptive and haunting debut which fizzes - and sears - like rough new wine' Rory MacLean, Sunday Times 'Lyrical, poetic and sassy by turns; when she retells Georgian people's stories, you hear real voices' Vanora Bennett, The Times 'I couldn't possibly over praise the beautiful writing' Sunday Tribune 'A sparkling, poetical hymn to the most romantic and dangerous land in the world.' Simon Sebag-Montefiore, author of Prince of Princes: The Life of Potemkin 'Lively, atmospheric, honest, perceptive; a terrific account of Georgia's post-Soviet mess from a fresh and intelligent new writer' Anna Reid, author of Borderland Fed up with working for Time magazine in London, Steavenson moved to Georgia on a whim. Stories I Stole relates her time there in twenty vodka-fuelled episodes drawn from all over the country - tales of love, friendship and power cuts, of duelling (Georgian style), of horse races in the mountains, wars and refugees, broken hearts, fixed elections, drinking sessions and a room containing a thousand roses.