The Literature Express | Georgian Fiction

The novel is about literature and writers – mediocre authors travelling together around Europe. A literary association has invited authors of various nationalities to a seminar and the narrative follows their train journey through Europe on the Literature Express, a train specially chartered for the occasion. The novel describes the self-absorption of the authors and their inability to communicate with one another.

The main character of the story is a Georgian author. At the heart of the novel lies the love story between him and his Polish translator’s wife. However, their romance is as unsuccessful as are the protagonist’s attempts at literary success. All the authors on the Literature Express aspire for fame and originality, but fail to prove it with their work in a very ironic story finale.

Lasha Bugadze writes fiction and is also a playwright and the host of book programs on Georgian TV. Born in 1977, he lives and works in Tbilisi. His novel A Small Country (2017), won all three big literary awards in Georgia in 2018: Saba, Ilia State University Award and Litera. Lasha won the International BBC Playwriting Competition in 2011 for the play The Navigator, and his play The President Has Come to See You was performed at London’s Royal Court Theatre in 2013.