Reflection of Georgian-Jewish Relations in Two Novels by Giorgi Sosiashvili ("The Wailing Wall" and "The White City")

Abstract

Giorgi Sosiashvili is one of the outstanding representatives of modern Georgian writing.

The main theme of his work is a  national problem. Also, the relationship of Georgians with neighboring nations is clearly outlined.

In this regard, the novel-dilogy “The Wall of Lamentation”, which has also been called “The Caucasian Saga”, is interesting, because here the relationship of Georgians with Ossetians, Russians, Abkhazians, Kists and Jews is seen and presented from a highly humane position.

It is noteworthy that Georgian-Jewish relations are reflected not only in the aforementioned extensive literary work of Giorgi Sosiashvili, but also in the documentary novel, which the writer called “The White City”.

If in “The Wailing Wall” we should see this through one character, a Georgian Jew, then “The White City” is entirely dedicated to this topic - a trip to Jerusalem and the author’s impressions.

It can be said that the main character of this novel is the city. Here the writer’s distinctive attitude towards representatives of a brotherly nation and Israel is impressively reflected. The novel is accompanied by the author’s words as a refrain: “If I forget you, you, Jerusalem.”

The titles of both novels are metaphorically related to the Holy City. After all, the title is a guide to the text and contains the main code of the work.

If “White City” is an easily decipherable metaphor, “The Wailing Wall” requires more thought. Perhaps the question arises: what should connect the adventures of our contemporary Georgian man, the one who has endured many trials, the one who has experienced almost all the pain of his homeland, with the Wailing Wall?

This question further highlights the artistic and emotional power of the work. The point is that the main character of “The Wailing Wall,” Bakar, who, after many trials and tribulations, remains unscathed, is invited to Israel by his Georgian Jewish friend, Tato, who guides him through the path of Golgotha ​​and brings him to the Wailing Wall, where he understands his own adventure and feels reborn.

In the epilogue of “The White City,” the narrator also dreams of Jerusalem. As he notes in a conversation with Mamaos, it is “neither near nor far.” The aspiration to “the White City” signifies a strong desire for purity and closeness to God.

In both novels by Giorgi Sosiashvili, the uniqueness of the twenty-six-century relationship between Georgians and Jews is expressed with high artistic power. The writer managed to do this with rare skill both in his extensive work of fiction and in his documentary novel depicting a journey to the Holy City.