Scan barcode
lisatz's review against another edition
4.0
I read this book as sort of literary preparation for a short stopover I will habe during an upcoming trip. Miroslav Penkov is the first Bulgarian author I read and loved his way of telling stories that are so unexpected, sad and funny at the same time. This collection includes eight stories - six are set in Bulgaria while two are about Bulgarian emigrees living in the US.
The first story “Makedonija” is narrated by an older man who lives with his wife in a home for elderly people after she suffered a stroke. He finds love letters from a man who loved his wife before they married and decides to read them to his wife. The story takes us back to Bulgaria right after the end of the ottoman regime and tells the story of the newly formed Bulgaria and the war between Bulgaria and makedonija. (4⭐️)
The second story „east of the west“ was kind of my favourite. It is about a village that is split in two halves after the end of WW2. The inhabitants of the village are not allowed to cross from east to west but have a reunion festival every year where families can meet. The story follows the life of a young boy growing up in the east and tells the tragedies of his family history. (5⭐️)
Story number three „buying Lenin“ describes the exchange of letters and phone calls between a very communist grandfather and his grandson who decides to study in the US. The young man struggles between missing Bulgaria and admitting this to his grandfather while the grandfather who is a big fan of Lenin tries to invoke kn him the belief in communism. The English title of this story is so perfect - while the German one -wenn Giraffen fliegen- not only doesn’t get the point of this story but is also used as the title of the whole book in Germany. Why couldn’t they just use the same as in the US edition??(5⭐️)
Another story „the night horizon“ tells the story of a family from a Turkish minority living in the Bulgarian countryside. It is narrated by the child of the family and recounts how she survives her family. I didn’t even know there was a Turkish minority in Bulgaria and how oppressed they were/are. At one point all Turkish people in Bulgaria had to change their names into Bulgarian ones and the government even changed Turkish names on the graves. Definitely a topic I need to look in more deeply. (5⭐️)
These were my favourite stories but all the others are definitely worth a read too. The only thing that kind of made me wonder was the use of the German z-word a slur to describe members of the sinti and Roma. In one story it was used so excessively and I am not sure if this is wanted by the author or just a very bad translation. I wished for more deconstructing of racism in storytelling featuring Sinti and Roma.
The first story “Makedonija” is narrated by an older man who lives with his wife in a home for elderly people after she suffered a stroke. He finds love letters from a man who loved his wife before they married and decides to read them to his wife. The story takes us back to Bulgaria right after the end of the ottoman regime and tells the story of the newly formed Bulgaria and the war between Bulgaria and makedonija. (4⭐️)
The second story „east of the west“ was kind of my favourite. It is about a village that is split in two halves after the end of WW2. The inhabitants of the village are not allowed to cross from east to west but have a reunion festival every year where families can meet. The story follows the life of a young boy growing up in the east and tells the tragedies of his family history. (5⭐️)
Story number three „buying Lenin“ describes the exchange of letters and phone calls between a very communist grandfather and his grandson who decides to study in the US. The young man struggles between missing Bulgaria and admitting this to his grandfather while the grandfather who is a big fan of Lenin tries to invoke kn him the belief in communism. The English title of this story is so perfect - while the German one -wenn Giraffen fliegen- not only doesn’t get the point of this story but is also used as the title of the whole book in Germany. Why couldn’t they just use the same as in the US edition??(5⭐️)
Another story „the night horizon“ tells the story of a family from a Turkish minority living in the Bulgarian countryside. It is narrated by the child of the family and recounts how she survives her family. I didn’t even know there was a Turkish minority in Bulgaria and how oppressed they were/are. At one point all Turkish people in Bulgaria had to change their names into Bulgarian ones and the government even changed Turkish names on the graves. Definitely a topic I need to look in more deeply. (5⭐️)
These were my favourite stories but all the others are definitely worth a read too. The only thing that kind of made me wonder was the use of the German z-word a slur to describe members of the sinti and Roma. In one story it was used so excessively and I am not sure if this is wanted by the author or just a very bad translation. I wished for more deconstructing of racism in storytelling featuring Sinti and Roma.
kingkong's review against another edition
4.0
Some good stories about people and places and feelings
nesetzengin's review against another edition
5.0
Yazacağım herhangi bir yorum fazlalık burada, küçük bir ülkenin içine tüm her şeyi sığdırmış Penkov: savaşlar, yıkımlar, mektuplar, dağılan aileler, gençlik-yaşlılık, Bulgarlar, Türkler, elma üzerinde kalan dişler, köyü kara kana boyayan cellatlar, susan anneler, çok konuşan dedeler, batık kiliseler, sarıp sarmalayan dağlar, yağan taşlar bazen hortumlar. Makedonya öyküsü hayatımda okuduğum en iyi öykülerden biri olabilir. Batının Doğusu da kitapta çok iyiydi. Devşirme öyküsündeki gibi fazla aksiyonun bazen yorduğunu da düşündüm ama o öyküyü de en iyi öykülerden birisiydi kitapta. Çok yaşa Yüz Kitap.
georgiahutchinson's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
sarahpisa's review against another edition
4.0
I'm usually not a huge fan of short stories, but this little collection was absolutely delightful. East of the West is a compendium of eight short stories taking place in Bulgaria (the East of the Western world) or about Bulgarians (the Orientals of the Occidentals....) and even though each stories brings its own lot of adversities and pain, no character is victimised or self-pitying here and the humour makes everything easily digestible.
My favorite one was Buying Lenin, and the one that almost made me cry was A Picture with Yuki. If you've read this book too, let me know what your favourite one was!
My favorite one was Buying Lenin, and the one that almost made me cry was A Picture with Yuki. If you've read this book too, let me know what your favourite one was!
evi_'s review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
kyriakiz's review against another edition
4.0
Μου άρεσαν και τα 8 διηγήματα! Μου άρεσαν η γραφή, οι περιγραφές και όλως παραδόξως η ατμόσφαιρά και η αίσθηση που σου άφηναν, που θα μπορούσαν κάλλιστα να διαδραματίζονται και στη δική μας ελληνική επαρχία. Γραμμένα άλλες φορές με χιούμορ και κάποιες φορές συγκινητικά, είχαν όλα μέσα τους, με τον έναν ή τον άλλο τρόπο, τη Βουλγαρία. Φτώχεια, οικογενειακοί δεσμοί, υποσχέσεις, επιθυμίες, παρόν και παρελθόν, μια ανάγκη για φυγή από το τελευταίο και ταυτόχρονα μια ανάγκη για επιστροφή στην ασφάλεια αυτού. Ξεχωρίζω ιδιαιτέρως τα Ανατολικά της Δύσης, Νυχτερινός Ορίζοντας και Ντεβσιρμέ!
hrc333's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed these short stories about Bulgaria that I had the privilege to read while visiting the country.