Six books by writers from Bulgaria, set there, that give a real sense of the place, starting with Street Without a Name: Childhood and Other Misadventures in Bulgaria and Under the Yoke.
Bulgaria's best-known novel is Ivan Vazov's Under the Yoke, set during the April Uprising of 1876 against Ottoman rule. Vazov is regarded as a founding figure of modern Bulgarian literature, and Bulgaria has been a centre of Cyrillic writing since the Middle Ages. Under communism, until 1989, writers worked under state control.
Start with Kapka Kassabova's Street Without a Name: Childhood and Other Misadventures in Bulgaria, which recalls growing up in communist Sofia. Anton Donchev's Time of Parting, translated from Bulgarian, is a historical novel of the forced Islamisation of a Rhodope mountain village in the seventeenth century. Miroslav Penkov, like Kassabova, writes in English; his novel Stork Mountain is set in the Strandzha mountains on the Turkish border, where fire-dancing rituals survive.
“Find a copy” goes to Bookshop.org. If you buy, we earn a small commission and independent bookshops get a share too.
Memoir of growing up in 1970s-80s communist Sofia, and of everyday life under late socialism and the change that followed.
Classic novel of a Balkan town rising against Ottoman rule in the 1876 April Uprising, central to Bulgarian national identity.
Travel and history in the wild Strandzha borderlands with Turkey and Greece, with Cold War legacies, smugglers, healers and folk traditions.
Set in the Strandzha mountains on the Turkish border, exploring folk belief, fire-dancing rituals and religious divides between Christians and Muslims.
Stories of village and city life in Bulgaria, from socialist-era memories to the post-1989 legacy and emigration.
Historical novel of the forced Islamisation of a Rhodope mountain village in the 17th century under Ottoman rule.
Albania Andorra Austria Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatia Cyprus Czechia Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Kosovo Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Moldova Monaco Montenegro Netherlands North Macedonia Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia San Marino Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Ukraine United Kingdom Vatican City