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The Wolves of Staro Selo
272 pages, Paperback
Published March 11, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 2, 2025
Propaganda I'm always falling for: Bulgarian novels.
Or maybe I should fall for them more often because this one came 2 years after I read Georgi Gospodinov's IBP winner. No similarities in plot but the way the Bulgarians write about their country and their places & people is so similar in unison, leastways, I noticed, the national soul is etched throughout their prose.
"𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘣𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘣𝘺 𝘨𝘶𝘯."
The tale is clear. Staro Selo is a crime-ridden neighborhood in Bulgaria where Ginger Dimatar, as methodically as a surgeon, dominates the street & personal homes with violence. He is the darkness. We witness Damyana's coming-of-age here with the protagonist being her grandma. Grandma Elena. Elena the Healer – who heals wounds and inflicts those that can't be healed. She is a witch, the overlords would say. She is a messiah, said the meek. She is the light.
We have other characters too who are equal parts radical and lively. Siyana the mathematics lover, Christo the Siyana lover, Vasko the special friend of Damyana, Marietta the partner hopper, Accordion grandmasters such as Vassil and Dimo, and many more. The novel shifts & drifts between perspectives granting each character a chance to be heard.
Zdravka Evtimova intertwines language with landscape placing every word distinctly to make THE WOLVES OF STARO SELO a celebration of stories about justice. What I'm particularly in love with is the Bulgarian to English translation by Yana Ellis – the author's idea of elevating the geography & her people into a metaphor wouldn't have resonated so much without the translator's rendering. A fan of both, now!
Small events take place in this novel making it a big story of the classic clash between light and darkness. It has been long since I read the last line, but I'm still carrying this novel with me and will continue for the months to come.
More novels by Zdravka Evtimova, please?
More translations by Yana Ellis, please?
Or maybe I should fall for them more often because this one came 2 years after I read Georgi Gospodinov's IBP winner. No similarities in plot but the way the Bulgarians write about their country and their places & people is so similar in unison, leastways, I noticed, the national soul is etched throughout their prose.
"𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘣𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘣𝘺 𝘨𝘶𝘯."
The tale is clear. Staro Selo is a crime-ridden neighborhood in Bulgaria where Ginger Dimatar, as methodically as a surgeon, dominates the street & personal homes with violence. He is the darkness. We witness Damyana's coming-of-age here with the protagonist being her grandma. Grandma Elena. Elena the Healer – who heals wounds and inflicts those that can't be healed. She is a witch, the overlords would say. She is a messiah, said the meek. She is the light.
We have other characters too who are equal parts radical and lively. Siyana the mathematics lover, Christo the Siyana lover, Vasko the special friend of Damyana, Marietta the partner hopper, Accordion grandmasters such as Vassil and Dimo, and many more. The novel shifts & drifts between perspectives granting each character a chance to be heard.
Zdravka Evtimova intertwines language with landscape placing every word distinctly to make THE WOLVES OF STARO SELO a celebration of stories about justice. What I'm particularly in love with is the Bulgarian to English translation by Yana Ellis – the author's idea of elevating the geography & her people into a metaphor wouldn't have resonated so much without the translator's rendering. A fan of both, now!
Small events take place in this novel making it a big story of the classic clash between light and darkness. It has been long since I read the last line, but I'm still carrying this novel with me and will continue for the months to come.
More novels by Zdravka Evtimova, please?
More translations by Yana Ellis, please?
July 2, 2025
An interesting take on life in some of Bulgaria's poorer and more isolated communities, the corruption, gangsterism and sense of community.
I found the writing style a little jarring at times, with characters constantly referred to by their appearance, the tall, thin woman; the beard; the handsome man; etc. I found it a bit repetitive and slow paced, hence taking over 2 weeks to finish such a small book. The content was interesting, especially as someone that spent a lot of time in Bulgaria and have a number of friends there and have seen these smaller towns first hand. I just wish there was a bit more pace to the story.
I found the writing style a little jarring at times, with characters constantly referred to by their appearance, the tall, thin woman; the beard; the handsome man; etc. I found it a bit repetitive and slow paced, hence taking over 2 weeks to finish such a small book. The content was interesting, especially as someone that spent a lot of time in Bulgaria and have a number of friends there and have seen these smaller towns first hand. I just wish there was a bit more pace to the story.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews