Love, memories, family, enduring friendships, cooking, movies, dogs, travels, hairstyles, and saying Yes to many No’s in a witty, yet often sentimental, journey of self-discovery…
You Will Have a Black Labrador is a collection of semiautobiographical essays forming a narrative about a modern Georgian woman. Her stories range from the search for a perfect romantic partner to exploring food as an integral part of the Georgian culture. Many of the vignettes center on childhood memories or weird family traditions, such as the way family members stay connected no matter if they’re deceased or alive. One essay reveals how making a simple omelette can change your life; and that No can be the most powerful word in any language. She shows us, too, that a haircut can be a tribute to the movies you love as well as a path to your freedom; and how owning a dog always brings unexpected experiences. In this poignantly humourous collection, reality mixes and interferes with an imaginative world in so many surprising ways.
Excerpt
For my first-ever cooking fiasco, I blame my brother and the day he asked me to make two boiled eggs. I threw myself into the task unaware of the consequences it would have on my life.
‘Don’t forget to salt them, okay?’ he told me nonchalantly, and that detail of adding salt completely ruined my teenager years. The dish I prepared after an hour of struggle resembled boiled eggs like a giraffe resembles a cat. I had no idea how to boil and salt the eggs simultaneously, so I decided to simply smash them into the hot water. By the end of my first-ever culinary attempt, we had no more eggs in the house and I had to clean every surface in our kitchen, accompanied by my brother’s hysterical laughter.
This story became an anecdote. My family members would tell it over and over to their friends and to friends of friends. It mercilessly followed me everywhere I went, and resurfaced when I least expected it. Two boiled eggs—the embarrassment of my life.
That’s why, from the age of eleven or twelve, I was willing to have a go at any new challenge except, well, cooking. But—I have to add a huge but here—in my family, cooking and serving a meal always was, and still is, quintessential. The most important question you’d hear at our house is either ‘Are you hungry?’ or ‘Have you eaten?’ presuming that as long as you were not hungry, everything else was secondary.
Interview with Nino Gugunishvili
For those interested in exploring the subject or theme of your book, where should they start?
I think they should start by revisiting their childhood memories and remembering their families, the defining moments of their upbringing, people, and events that influenced them or impacted their formation. I also think they should look into contemporary women’s narratives, funny and humorous, sprinkled with irony, or even sarcasm, often sentimental, sometimes sad, but almost always honest.
How did you become involved with the subject or theme of your book?
I see this book as a small tribute to what we value the most; for me, it's also about the importance of defining who you are, discovering yourself, and not being too serious about it. To be honest, when I started writing it, I didn't have a clue that it would eventually become a collection of essays to reflect many of my own personal experiences.
What were your goals and intentions in this book, and how well do you feel you achieved them?
I wanted to tell a story about family ties, friendships, memories, loss, love, tiny victories, and how people transform over time, understanding what really matters. The culture, traditions, and how every part of it shapes us and helps us become who we are, seen, explored, and narrated by a contemporary woman. As for how well I achieved the goal, well, I hope many readers will find these essays relatable.
Anything you would like to say to your readers and fans?
A big, huge thank you to anyone who read it already and to those who’ll read it in the nearest future! I really hope it’ll lift your spirits just a little in these strange and challenging times.
What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
I immensely enjoyed writing it because it felt as if I was traveling back in time; it brought back many of the funny and happy moments in my life from childhood to adolescence; it helped me rethink so many things. It was interesting to try writing in the short, non-fiction form.
Can you tell us a little bit about your next books or what you have planned for the future?
Ooh, very gladly! My newest book has just been published in October 2020, and it’s called “From My Balcony to Yours.” It’s a series of blogs I wrote from March to September 2020, when the global pandemic started. It’s a personal account, almost a diary, a story of coping and not coping, a story of fear, doubt, hope, and how we adjust to unpredictable circumstances when everything around us changes in a blink of an eye.
How long have you been writing?
I started writing my debut novel – “Friday Evening, Eight O’Clock,” in 2013 and self-published it in 2015. Four years later, “You Will Have a Black Labrador” came out, and now the most recent collection - “From My Balcony to Yours” is out there too!
About the Author:
"You Will Have a Black Labrador" is Nino Gugunishvili’s recently released collection of short essays. She is also the author of a women’s fiction novel, Friday Evening, Eight O’Clock, published in English and Russian. She resides in Tbilisi, Georgia.
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4 comments:
Thanks so very much for hosting! Thrilled to be here! I hope it'll be a great ride!
Thanks for hosting!
The book sounds intriguing. Thanks!
Thanks so much! I hope you enjoyed the excerpt and will be stopping by!
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