The story smuggler

Georgi Gospodinov

£14.99

Available on back-order

Some smuggle cigarettes or alcohol, others weapons, but for renowned Bulgarian novelist Georgi Gospodinov, the most dangerous contraband is carried by writers, who surreptitiously move stories across borders. In ‘The Story Smuggler’, Gospodinov explores how smugglers, writers, and translators are all involved in transporting whatever may be desired, valued, missing, repressed, or forbidden. There’s a melancholic tone here, as Gospodinov’s exploration focuses on his childhood in Communist Bulgaria and on the fantasies of other lives and places that this childhood engendered. Accompanying the text are drawings by award-winning Bulgarian animator and graphic artist Theodore Ushev, adding a further layer to its exposition of border-crossing.

ISBN: 9781399623117 Category:

Description

‘Some smuggle cigarettes, others alcohol – or weapons.
Our contraband, being invisible, is more dangerous.
Our contraband is undetectable by scanners.
What we carry as concealed excess baggage is stories.’

In this exquisite literary gem, Georgi Gospodinov, winner of the International Booker Prize, invites the reader on a winding journey through his own memories.

He shows us a childhood under Communism, a particularly Bulgarian variety of melancholy, the freedom and thrills found in reading and writing, and the coming of age of one extraordinary writer.

Ultimately, this profound, playful and deeply moving autobiographical text offers resounding proof of the power and importance of storytelling.

TRANSLATED FROM THE BULGARIAN BY KRISTINA KOVACHEVA AND DAN GUNN

Additional information

Weight 0.18 kg
Dimensions 20.4 × 13.6 × 1.6 cm
Author

Publisher

Imprint

Cover

Hardback

Pages

64

Language

English

Edition
Dewey

891.818409 (edition:23)

Readership

General – Trade / Code: K

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