There Was a Garden Once

by Nino Gugunishvili

Rating: ****

There Was a Garden Once is a concise collection of twenty-four autobiographical musings and essays, some just a couple of pages long. Interwoven with humorous reflections on everyday life are deeper meditations on grief and aging.

Gugunishvili’s latest compilation* is a little book of delights, leaving the reader smiling despite the plaintive tone of several narratives. Gugunishvili writes with a natural, chatty intimacy that never feels forced. Her words tumble out with fluid authenticity while subliminally maintaining a writerly structure and distance.

The opener, “Hello, Nice to Meet You!” introduces the author and then swiftly segues into a jaunty exploration of the anthroponymy of her last name, language differences, and misuses. Not only is it interesting, but it’s also an excellent piece with which to begin, personal yet not overly familiar, while affording the reader a glimpse of Gugunishvili’s sense of identity.

The second, “Late Bloomers,” is one of a handful of pieces threaded throughout the book that contemplate grief following the sudden passing of an extremely close friend of Gugunishvili’s. These essays are raw, impassioned, yet controlled, and, although subjective, they are relatable and thought-provoking. Through the lens of their shared, focused memories and the workaday plans and actions that were spoken of, tentatively arranged, and now never to be fulfilled, Gugunishvili explores the many facets of loss, from the mundane to the profound.

Other reminiscences are alive with knowing amusement, often addressing the reader directly or carrying on an internal dialogue, posing questions, some rhetorical, others prompting a response.

There is a cultivated stream-of-consciousness style in Gugunishvili’s prose that is endearing yet deceptively shrewd, as she carves layers of meaning from everyday observations or prosaic items, such as white jeans and old laptops.

Additionally, she is adept at drawing out the beauty in humdrum daily routines. Dog-walking is one such example, used not only to muse upon the natural world but also as a conduit into memories of childhood behaviors and the recent past.

All of her little memoir-glimpses sparkle with fun and a touch of self-deprecation, especially the riffs on aging. They are effortless to read, and several are brushed with whimsical unpredictability.

Gugunishvili also employs some lovely, descriptive phrases that are simple yet uniquely encapsulate their context. “Passing days” from the second piece caught me, as did “soul stripteases” from “Almost Dust,” later in the book.

A few are subtly linked by a wistful quality and a sharp, almost bitter awareness of herself and those around her. “The Pool,” personally one of the strongest, showcases this, as does the titular piece, “There Was a Garden Once.”

Notwithstanding, Gugunishvili concludes most of her essays with a comic aside that links to the main thrust of her narrative, lending even her more sober reflections a playful, positive note with which to end.

There Was a Garden Once is a captivating and insightful collection written with warmth, charm, and candor.  Well worth a read.

*Click here for my review of You Will Have a Black Labrador.

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Amazon UK | Amazon US