{"product_id":"love-stories-9781442608962","title":"Love Stories","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the remote highlands of the country of Georgia, a small group of mountaindwellers called the Khevsurs used to express sexuality and romance in ways that appear to be highly paradoxical. On the one hand, their practices were romantic, but could never lead to marriage. On the other hand, they were sexual, but didn't correspond to what North Americans, or most Georgians, would have called sex. These practices were well documented by early ethnographers before they disappeared completely by the midtwentieth century, and have become a Georgian obsession. In this fascinating book, Manning recreates the story of how these private, secretive practices became a matter of national interest, concern, and fantasy. Looking at personal expressions of love and the circulation of these narratives at the broader public level of the modern nation, \u003cem\u003eLove Stories\u003c\/em\u003e offers an ethnography of language and desire that doubles as an introduction to key linguistic genres and to the interplay of lang\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLove Stories contains an abundance of translated examples; in the case of poetry, the Khevsur Georgian original is also provided (in transliteration). In addition to their informational and aesthetic value, the textual materials find use as pedagogical resources to illustrate concepts such as genre, sociability and performativity. -- Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute Although of interest to scholars of post-socialism, the Caucasus, and linguistics, the book is that much sought-after, brief, jargonless, and vividly written ethnographic introduction to anthropological 'intersections' that brings together a variety of classical anthropological topics, all in about 140 pages. -- Anthropologica Love Stories is a highly readable and interesting ethnography that will captivate the imagination of its readers as it has Georgian intellectuals. Accessible to undergraduates as an introduction to ethnography, it will also stimulate those interested in kinship, love poetry, socialism and post-socialism, queer anthropology and the history of anthropology. -- Anthropology News\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eList of Illustrations    Acknowledgments    Introduction: Setting the Stage for Romance       A Brief Introduction to Khevsur Love    Well, Did They, or Didn't They?    Georgian Stereotypes about Khevsurs and \"the Romance of the Mountains\"    Language and Desire: Genres and Practices    The Khevsurs in History    Plan of the Book       1. THE AMBASSADOR    The Elchi as Mediator    Autonomy, Persuasion, and Desire    The Elchi at Work: A Girl's First Night of Sts'orproba   Conversation 1: The Elchi and the Girl    Conversation 2: The Elchi and the Boy    Conversation 3: The Elchi and the Mother       2. SPENDING THE NIGHT TOGETHER    Lying Down and Getting Up: Sociable Talk and Sociable Sexuality    Intimate Contact: Prohibition and Transgression   Boundary: Sex    Boundary: Marriage    Sociability and Obligation    The Role of Different Genres       3. GOING STEADY    The Social Life of Vodka    Going with Vodka     Visiting Vodka     Road Vodka    The Sexual Life of Vodka    Stealing Vodka     Saving and Hiding Vodka     Drinking Vodka     From Casual to Durable Sexual Relations:   Sts'orperis  and Dzmobilis     The Dzmobili Relationship and Its Rivals     Night and Day     Creating and Maintaining Durable Relationships over Time    Creating the Relationship: Oaths and Hints     Maintaining the Relationship: Waiting and Exchange        4. INVISIBLE LOVE POETRY    The Invisibility of Khevsur Love Poetry: The Absence of the Lyric Mode    Articulating Desire in Pshavian Lyric    The Erasure of Desire in Khevsur Love Poetry    Anonymity: Erasure of the Author of Love Poetry    Replacing Individual Desire with Desirability in Praise Poetry       5. DEMONS, DANGER, AND DESIRE: THE \"ARAGVIAN\" SEXUAL REVOLUTION    Scandal Narratives    Russian Marriage   The Aragvian Way of Love    Khevsur Girls' Love Stories: Three Case Studies    Mariemi's Story    Nanuk'i's Story    Ashekali's Story       6. INTELLIGENTSIA AND PEOPLE: A LOVE STORY    Genres of Realism and Romance    The Story of Natela: A Khevsur Romance of the Nineteenth Century    The Story of Natela: A Native Ethnographer of the Twentieth Century       7. ECHOES OF LOVE LOST: SOCIALIST NOVELS AND FILMS    Socialist Ethnographies    Modernist Novels    Socialist Films    Modernity and Tradition: Frame Narrative and Framed Narrative    Romance, Poetry, and Violence    Echoes of Sts'orproba       Conclusion: Virtual Romance       From Film to Image: Khevsurs in Late-Socialist Art    Virtual Romance on Georgian Teen Forums       Glossary    References   Index\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"University of Toronto Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51769664045399,"sku":"9781442608962","price":25.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781442608962.jpg?v=1758722131","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/love-stories-9781442608962","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}