Hard by a Great Forest by Leo Vardiashvili

Debut novel; 352 pages; Published by Bloomsbury Publishing, 30/01/24; Dimensions: 15.5 x 2.7 x 23 cm

I am very thankful to Leo for sending me a copy of this beautiful book.  As a debut novel I was blown away.

I was intrigued by this book when the cover grabbed me when I was visiting a local independent book shop. The detailed sprayed edges and colour choice of bright orange reminded me of a 1980s cult animation Pigeon Street.

The white bold title stands out and as an avid reader, thoughts went straight to Hansel and Gretel which the title is in fact a reference to, and the narrative is inspired by this fairy tale.

I loved all the references to many written works throughout this book. Leo wrote a message to me when he had kindly signed the book with the question, “why are the slippers red?”

I thought immediately of the  Wizard of Oz but I didn’t want to just assume that this was referring to that particular story. I promise no spoilers so I won’t go any further on that one.

For sensory aspects and the look and feel of this hardback I am again blown away, there is a lot of detail but I don’t feel overwhelmed by this. I love the orange, white and the splash of turquoise.

I love that the actual hardback itself is orange and I don’t believe it is common choice for hardbacks. The inside covers are just beautiful with running animals which becomes clear not too far into the book.

Once the dust cover is removed this hardback is orange with the title with the title and authors name in black down the spine all in uppercase case.  The beautiful design and images continue to the inside of the back cover.

This being a debut novel we know it is often written of what the author knows best or has experience of. I immediately felt empathy as I felt this is perhaps based on some real life experiences therefore it was no surprise that in the information about the author, we learn that he has experienced aspects of his story.

I myself really appreciate a book that has a bit about the author as this somehow makes a book more real, especially with a photo too. I found this a very fast paced book with lovely soft easy pages.

The language and general syntax made this book flow easy for me. I feel what is currently going on in the world now is the perfect time to read this story.

It was an absolute pleasure to read this and I thank Leo very much for sending me a copy and can not wait to read more of his in the future.