Our book of the week is Kapka Kassabova's wonderful new travel memoir. Born in Bulgaria, Kassabova settled in New Zealand as a teenager, published poetry and two novels, and has moved to Scotland.
In A Street Without a Name she chronicles her family's life on the muddy outskirts of Sofia under Communism in the 1980s, and how she felt returning to her homeland as an adult.
The writing is curious, funny, unflinching, and poignant, capturing the absurdities and idiosyncracies of this hidden country to the north of Greece. Kapka the small girl asked why everything in Bulgaria was so ugly, Kapka the adult tries to understand why that was so.
This book is for anyone who wants to know more about Europe's newest member or who simply wants to spend time with the perfect travelling companion. (Review: Mary McCallum)
Street without a Name. Childhood and other Misadventures in Bulgaria. By Kapka Kassabova (Penguin) $28
1 comment:
This book is just great.
I also grew up in a communist country, and the 'little' everday things of life under communism that Kapka describes are so genuine and so poignant! That time couldn't described better. This is the funniest book i have red on the subject.
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