The Novel in the Second Half of the 20th Century

Anton Donchev, Time of Parting (1964)

A novel about the forced conversion to Islam in the Rhodope Mountains in the 17th century. A reading of pain, faith and the price of freedom. Lyudmil Staykov's 1988 film is still watched today with an open mouth and a lump in the throat.

Yordan Radichkov (1929–2004)

Magical realism, Bulgarian-style. Radichkov wrote about the villages of the northwest, about sparrows, about “We, the Sparrows” („Ние, врабчетата“) and “The Unlit Yards” („Неосветените дворове“). His characters talk to animals, and sometimes the animals answer more sensibly.

Pavel Vezhinov, The Barrier (1976)

A strange, fantastical love story about a woman who can fly. Mystical, tender, with a light touch of science fiction.

Viktor Paskov, Ballad for Georg Henig (1987)

A short novel about a Czech lute-maker living in Sofia. Music, poverty and beauty. You read it in an afternoon and remember it for life.

Others

• Bogomil Rainov – spy novels and essays.
• Vladimir Zarev, Ruin („Разруха“, 2003) – the post-communist transition in Bulgaria as a novel.
• Georgi Markov – novels and plays, but above all his “Reportage in Absentia on Bulgaria” („Задочни репортажи за България“), broadcast on Radio Free Europe. Markov was killed in London in 1978 with a poisoned umbrella. Literature and history meet in the most unexpected places.