Short stories
Свирепо настроение
Not translated into English
Yordan Radichkov · 1965
Synopsis
A series of short tales, linked like the links of a chain, set in a Bulgarian country village. The winter is harsh, the people are quick-tempered, the animals stubborn. We come across a fabulous camel that no one can describe, and men who speak without their words reaching anyone. Nothing really happens, and reality slides towards the grotesque without anyone being surprised.
Context
The collection appeared in 1965, six years after the author's debut, and opens with “Лебеди мои”. It breaks with socialist realism: the author himself calls these texts grotesques, and their atypical quality, their digressions by association of ideas and their strange characters set off a controversy in literary circles. It has been reissued several times, up to the twenty-first century.
Who it is for
Short, very colloquial texts, to be taken one at a time; not translated in full, some of the stories are said to appear in Les récits de Tcherkaski.
Prizes and reception
The collection baffles critics: the author is attacked, notably by Ivan Spasov, but also praised; the book is regarded as the first in which the grotesque reigns.
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