“18% Gray” by Zachary Karabashliev (Open Letter Books, US, 2013)
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About the Book
Distraught over the sudden disappearance of his wife Stella, Zack tries to drown his grief in Tijuana, where he encounters a violent scene, and trying to save a stranger’s life, nearly loses his own. Escaping with the van of his attackers, he makes it back to the U.S., but only to find a bag of marijuana in it.
Read More“A Short Tale of Shame” by Angel Igov (Open Letter Books, US, 2013)
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About the Book
After deciding to take a semester off their studies to think about future plans, long-time friends Maya, Sirma, and Spartacus decide to hitchhike to the sea. Boril Krustev, former rock star and middle-aged widower who is driving aimlessly to outrun his grief, picks them up and accompanies them on their journey. It doesn’t
Read More“Everything Happens as It Does” by Albena Stambolova (Open Letter Books, US, 2013)
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About the Book
Albena Stambolova’s idiosyncratic debut novel, Everything Happens as It Does, builds from the idea that, as the title suggests, everything happens exactly the way it must. In this case, the seven characters of the novel—from Boris, a young boy who is only at peace when he’s around bees, to Philip and Maria and their
Read More“Nine Rabbits” by Virginia Zaharieva (Istros Books, UK, 2012)
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About the Book
Nine Rabbits tells two stories, that of a six-year-old girl, and of her grown-up self: Manda grows up on the Black Sea coast during the height of socialism in the 1960s, raised by her tyrannical grandmother along with her young aunts and uncles. While Grandma Nikula wages open and covert wars with life, Manda lives
Read More“Party Headquarters” by Georgi Tenev (Open Letter Books, US, 2016)
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About the Book
Winner of the Vick Foundation Novel of the Year Award in 2007, Party Headquarters takes place in the ’80s and ’90s, during Bulgaria’s transition from communist rule to democracy. The book—which is a love story, a parody, and a thriller about a political hoax—opens with the main character visiting his father-in
Read More“The Black Box” by Alek Popov (Peter Owen Publishers, UK, 2015)
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About the Book
The Black Box is the latest satirical novel from one of Europe’s funniest and most exciting emerging writers. In 1990 two Bulgarian brothers, Ned and Angel, receive an unusual package from the USA: a black plastic box containing the ashes of their late father, a professor allowed out of communist Bulgaria to teach in the
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