National Narrative (Aka Morchiladze's "obOle")

Abstract

The French distinguish between history and memory: the former is preserved in books, while the latter relies on living recollections. In obOle, both hi­s­tory and memory coexist. The main character, Irakli, recalls ancient events as though they are stored in the vault of memory, reprocessed and reinterpreted. Experiences from his childhood - both seen and heard - suddenly resurface in his mind. The old family home transforms into a chest of memories. The action takes pla­ce in western Georgia, in Lechkhumi, where the Muri Fortress and the tomb of Maximus the Confessor are located. Lechkhumi is strongly influenced by both Sva­ne­ti to the north and Imereti to the south. A new topos, a local space, is marked on the map of Georgian literature, characterized by distinct speech patterns, traits, daily life, and details. The location of the action is sharply toponymized, and the time is clearly defined.

     The writer uses a multiperspective narrative and, in obOle, presents an individual, subjective construction of truth. However, unlike in other novels, this work features greater generalization, with a broader and deeper context.

       The "competition" between Irakli and his brother, Nika, runs throughout the entire text—Nika is more successful, lives in America, has more money, and has built a new house on the ancestral estate. However, he still remains part of the clan (a Scottish archetype for a family or lineage). Every relative of Irakli's whom he meets in the village embodies this clan unity: perhaps it is less solid than it once was, but it remains conspicuous and significant. This theme introduces a social discourse into the text, which is not unfamiliar to Aka Morchiladze.

      In this ensemble of characters, Babutsa, the aunt, stands out as the guardian of tra­dition, customs, and love. The clan unity of the descendants of Timothy is not li­mi­ted to the living alone; their unity also lies in their deceased, with their cemetery being more alive than any other cemetery when considered as a whole. It is precisely these kinds of details that give the book its title, A Real Georgian Story. Moreover, it reflects the 1990s era, which the author himself describes as the "epoch of popular turbulence," an unvarnished picture of political upheavals and the deeds of the Mchedrioni militia.

     "As a Georgian, if you haven’t unpacked the stories of the past, how can you un­de­rstand the present?"- the writer justifies his own words. Aka Morchiladze is a master of telling stories "in everyday terms, without great exaltation or toasts."

      The novelty of the research lies precisely in the fact that it reflects, in a unified and complex manner, from a compositional and artistic perspective, the remarkable literary text of a distinguished author of our era.