The Story Behind Nobody Told Me About Tbilisi – I never planned to write a book.
To be honest, I never planned to stay in Tbilisi for very long either.
The story behind Nobody Told Me About Tbilisi didn’t begin with a publishing plan or a writing schedule. It began with short notes about a city where I thought I’d spend only a little while – a city that had other ideas about how long I’d stay. In 2023, I arrived in Tbilisi expecting my stay to be temporary. At least, that’s what I kept telling myself.
When you believe you’re only passing through, life feels much simpler. You don’t have to decide where home is. You don’t make long-term plans or promise yourself a completely new life. You simply unpack enough to get by, explore the city and assume you’ll figure everything out later. Tbilisi, however, had other ideas. At first, it was simply the city around me: balconies, narrow streets, old apartment buildings and the smell of fresh bread drifting out of neighbourhood bakeries.
Then, almost without noticing, it became the city I lived in rather than the city I was visiting. That was when I started taking notes.
How the Story Behind the Book Began
There was no book project. I simply wrote down small moments that somehow felt worth remembering.
- Someone says, “I’ll be right back,” and disappears for forty minutes.
- A hot shoti loaf almost never survives the walk home untouched.
- The neighbour upstairs doesn’t come down to borrow salt. She lowers it from her balcony in a basket.
A real city begins with details like these. Not with famous landmarks or lists of restaurants. It begins in quiet courtyards where neighbours have known each other for years. In tiny bakeries where bread is still warm enough to burn your fingers. In old lifts that people trust just a little more than they probably should. That was the Tbilisi I wanted to keep.
Looking at Tbilisi Through a Lawyer’s Eyes
For more than twenty years, I worked as an attorney in Saint Petersburg. The profession teaches you to hear more than words. You learn to notice pauses, hesitation, a single unexpected phrase or a small gesture that quietly contradicts everything else. Sometimes one overlooked detail changes the meaning of an entire conversation.
Writing works in much the same way. In Tbilisi, I found myself noticing the things most people walk past without seeing: an old sign in a hallway, a conversation between a shopkeeper and a regular customer, laundry hanging above a courtyard, a chair left outside an open door.
Behind every doorway are people who lived there before you. Behind every old balcony are generations of one family. Years of legal practice taught me to check facts, listen carefully and pay attention to details. As it turned out, that’s almost a complete toolkit for a writer.
When Short Notes Became the Story Behind This Book
I can’t remember the exact moment. At some point, I simply realised that every story I was writing was really about the same thing: how a stranger slowly learns to belong to a city. First, you compare everything to the place you came from. Then you stop comparing.
Eventually, you find yourself explaining the city’s strange little rules to people who have just arrived. Nobody Told Me About Tbilisi isn’t a guidebook, and it isn’t an attempt to explain Georgia. It’s a book about everyday life in a city where nobody seems to be in a hurry, yet somehow everything gets done.
Where conversations almost always last longer than expected. Where doors are often left open. Where a simple trip to buy bread can quietly turn into an adventure. Each chapter captures one small scene. Together, they became one long story about how the story behind this journey turned into a book.
When a Foreign City Becomes Home
Home rarely arrives all at once. First, you learn the way to the nearest shop. Then you recognise the baker. One day you realise you no longer need Google Maps. You have a favourite bakery, a familiar street, your usual route home. Eventually, the city stops being the background to your life. It becomes your life.
Perhaps that’s when moving abroad truly ends. Not when the paperwork is finished. Not when the furniture arrives. But when coming back to that city finally feels like coming home. For me, that happened in Tbilisi.
The Story Is Still Being Written
I’m still collecting stories. Tbilisi continues to provide new ones with absolutely no respect for my plans. Sometimes all it takes is a walk to buy bread. Sometimes it’s a taxi ride. Sometimes it’s simply standing in a courtyard for five minutes longer than intended.
I came to Tbilisi for a short stay. It became my home. Then it became a book. And somehow, I have a feeling the city hasn’t finished writing it yet.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Nobody Told Me About Tbilisi about?
It’s a collection of connected stories about everyday life in Tbilisi – its people, courtyards, balconies, neighbours, taxi drivers and the small habits that make the city feel alive. It’s not a guidebook. It’s a literary portrait of how a foreign place gradually becomes home.
Is it autobiographical?
Partly. My move to Tbilisi provides the background, but the city itself is the main character. The book is much more about the people and everyday life than about me.
In which languages is the book available?
The book is available in both Russian and English. You’ll find all the links – to the eBook, paperback editions and the free opening chapters – on the book page.
Why is it called Nobody Told Me About Tbilisi?
Because almost everything in the book is something nobody warns you about. Not the practical things. The human things. The little habits, conversations, surprises and everyday moments that slowly make the city feel familiar.
How many chapters does the book have?
Thirty chapters, plus a prologue and an epilogue. Each chapter stands on its own, but together they tell one larger story about belonging.
How did your legal career influence your writing?
More than twenty years as an attorney taught me to listen carefully, notice details and pay attention to what people don’t always say aloud. Those same skills became part of the way I write.
Is this a travel guide?
No. You won’t find sightseeing routes or lists of attractions. Instead, you’ll find ordinary conversations, neighbourhoods, courtyards, bread, balconies and everyday moments that reveal the city from the inside.
Start with the Free Preview
The prologue and the first chapters are available to read for free.