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Born of Guilt
From an award-winning debut novelist, Born of Guilt is a powerful and heartrending novel about the intense bond between mother and child and the consequences of freedom.
'I am calm only when alone. That's what my mother used to say. As a child I hated her for this because it meant I shouldn't have existed. Now I'm frightened by how much I understand her.'
Newly arrived in America, Yana spends her days in a series of dead-end service jobs and her nights meeting other immigrants. She breathes easier amidst the chaos of this bright new world, but her thoughts keep returning to her family and the country she left behind.
Working as a doctor in a Bulgaria haunted by communism, Yana's beautiful mother Lily believes she has escaped the dark horrors of her childhood, until she finds herself trapped once more in a violent marriage.
And Lily's own mother, Eva, is slowly losing herself in the embroidery of her memories. She urges Yana not to make the same mistakes she and Lily did - not to do everything her family tells her.
'One of the most powerful debuts I have encountered in recent years. Unmissable.' Georgi Gospodinov
'I am calm only when alone. That's what my mother used to say. As a child I hated her for this because it meant I shouldn't have existed. Now I'm frightened by how much I understand her.'
Newly arrived in America, Yana spends her days in a series of dead-end service jobs and her nights meeting other immigrants. She breathes easier amidst the chaos of this bright new world, but her thoughts keep returning to her family and the country she left behind.
Working as a doctor in a Bulgaria haunted by communism, Yana's beautiful mother Lily believes she has escaped the dark horrors of her childhood, until she finds herself trapped once more in a violent marriage.
And Lily's own mother, Eva, is slowly losing herself in the embroidery of her memories. She urges Yana not to make the same mistakes she and Lily did - not to do everything her family tells her.
'One of the most powerful debuts I have encountered in recent years. Unmissable.' Georgi Gospodinov
322 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 28, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 25, 2026
this debut novel follows three generations of bulgarian women in the aftermath of communism, a gorgeously written exploration into generational trauma and immigration. the writing is beautiful and i fell in love with every page. i adored the portrayal of the mother/daughter relationships and how the dynamics were shaped by circumstances. stunning.
September 18, 2026
Zgodba treh bolgarskih žensk iz treh generacij, babice Eve, mame Lili in hčerke Jane, Janina pripoved je v prvi osebi, medtem ko sta zgodbi Lili in Eve v tretji osebi, delno skozi Janine spomine in pripovedi, ki jih je slišala od njiju. Vse tri so seveda zaznamovane s časom, v katerem so živele, Eva rojena še pred komunizmom in Jana po njegovem razpadu. Vse si želijo boljše življenje, če že ne zase, vsaj za hčerko - tako materialno kot brez nasilja. Kar je gnalo naprej eno generacijo, ni več nujno pomembno za uspeh naslednje, zaradi česar njihovi odnosi niso brez konfliktov.
Janina pripoved se začne, ko se nahaja v ZDA na poletnem sezonskem delu za študente in tako pokaže tudi prekarno stran (pretežno) vzhodnih Evropejcev. Janina fizična distanca pa ji - tudi skozi pogovore z vrstniki in/ali sodelavci - da možnost, da drugače pogleda na življenje svoje mame in babice.
Priporočam.
PS: angleška zvočnica je zelo dobra, pripoveduje bulgarsko-britanska igralka Nia Vasileva, kar doda knjižni pripovedovalki Jani avtentičen glas.
Janina pripoved se začne, ko se nahaja v ZDA na poletnem sezonskem delu za študente in tako pokaže tudi prekarno stran (pretežno) vzhodnih Evropejcev. Janina fizična distanca pa ji - tudi skozi pogovore z vrstniki in/ali sodelavci - da možnost, da drugače pogleda na življenje svoje mame in babice.
Priporočam.
PS: angleška zvočnica je zelo dobra, pripoveduje bulgarsko-britanska igralka Nia Vasileva, kar doda knjižni pripovedovalki Jani avtentičen glas.
August 28, 2026
Following three generations of women growing up in brutal circumstances. An exploration of their heritage and complex family relationships.
June 9, 2026
Thank you #NetGalley for my free pre-publication download in exchange for an honest review.
I was impressed by this chunky debut novel, in which Elmy explores the connections between protagonist, Yana, her mother Lily and grandmother. The three women are Bulgarian; and we see how those 3 generations are linked against a background of international, national and personal upheaval.
The opening explodes into action when Yana witnesses a blaze of red and blue at a US intersection…and cannot get the image of one shoe in the road out of her mind. Throughout her difficult life, Yana observes such minutiae; often hiding her feelings which nonetheless we understand, as she confides her fears in us. As a child, she was forced to play the hated piano by a powerfully dominant mother, and was bullied by a drunken father living through crumbling of Communism in Bulgaria.
Yana reflects on ‘I am calm only when I am alone’…and remembers this was what her mother used to say. As a child, she was scared she was unwanted but as an adult, ‘I’m frightened by how much I understand her’. We and she, cannot leave our past behind, and so the book tumbles through landscapes, family groups, homes and constantly reminds her of the familiar past in the unfamiliar present, where for instance ‘the foreign is most visible in the grocery store’, banal but insightful.
Casual jobs cleaning and washing dishes alienate her further from the present, and so through fragmented memories she is hurtled to the past. Both her mother and father are fighters. And so is Yana. What she does begin to realise is how dirt poor her family were, their struggle to survive real…and miserable.
Without a shred of self pity, we are drawn into her world through the richly emotional narrative. And we understand how only now, as an adult, she understands Lily. Bravo translator, Angela Rodel.
Personally, I would have loved a family tree and a glossary of Bulgarian references for instance, to food in order to grasp more about an unfamiliar world.
I was impressed by this chunky debut novel, in which Elmy explores the connections between protagonist, Yana, her mother Lily and grandmother. The three women are Bulgarian; and we see how those 3 generations are linked against a background of international, national and personal upheaval.
The opening explodes into action when Yana witnesses a blaze of red and blue at a US intersection…and cannot get the image of one shoe in the road out of her mind. Throughout her difficult life, Yana observes such minutiae; often hiding her feelings which nonetheless we understand, as she confides her fears in us. As a child, she was forced to play the hated piano by a powerfully dominant mother, and was bullied by a drunken father living through crumbling of Communism in Bulgaria.
Yana reflects on ‘I am calm only when I am alone’…and remembers this was what her mother used to say. As a child, she was scared she was unwanted but as an adult, ‘I’m frightened by how much I understand her’. We and she, cannot leave our past behind, and so the book tumbles through landscapes, family groups, homes and constantly reminds her of the familiar past in the unfamiliar present, where for instance ‘the foreign is most visible in the grocery store’, banal but insightful.
Casual jobs cleaning and washing dishes alienate her further from the present, and so through fragmented memories she is hurtled to the past. Both her mother and father are fighters. And so is Yana. What she does begin to realise is how dirt poor her family were, their struggle to survive real…and miserable.
Without a shred of self pity, we are drawn into her world through the richly emotional narrative. And we understand how only now, as an adult, she understands Lily. Bravo translator, Angela Rodel.
Personally, I would have loved a family tree and a glossary of Bulgarian references for instance, to food in order to grasp more about an unfamiliar world.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
'Born of Guilt' is an intergenerational narrative following Yana, her mother Lily, and her mother Eva across the years from communist and post-communist Bulgaria to the present-day United States. The women's relationships are complex and raw. They are relationships wrought by distinctly Balkan/post-soviet circumstances: the abject poverty from having belonged behind the Iron Curtain, a culture that normalises abuse against women, hoping to be liberated from oppressive circumstances once your country enters the "free" world and its markets. And the disappointment upon realising that the free world's promise of liberation and democracy was an empty lie.
What the novel does really well is that it captures the distinct experience of growing up in a country that feels doomed, and of slowly realising you can’t have a good life there no matter how hard you try. And of wondering, after you’ve left, if you made the right choice in leaving. If you really are living a better life than you would have if you'd stayed with your people. Of having realised that life back home has moved on without you. Of watching your parents and grandparents grow older. And of being reminded, in both the present and the past, that you don’t quite belong anywhere. It's a brilliant and emotional novel, downright genius in the way it captures one (though not uncommon) type of immigrant experience. The narrative and writing style drew me right in, and I am very excited to see more of the author's work in the future (fingers crossed!)
Thank you to Faber for allowing me to read a proof! As a Greek immigrant, I was drawn to 'Born of Guilt' for rather obvious reasons. I was especially interested in reading a novel translated from Bulgarian because I've not read a Balkan or Eastern European novel before. It was as wonderful as I hoped it would be, and I've ordered a copy for my bookshop.
What the novel does really well is that it captures the distinct experience of growing up in a country that feels doomed, and of slowly realising you can’t have a good life there no matter how hard you try. And of wondering, after you’ve left, if you made the right choice in leaving. If you really are living a better life than you would have if you'd stayed with your people. Of having realised that life back home has moved on without you. Of watching your parents and grandparents grow older. And of being reminded, in both the present and the past, that you don’t quite belong anywhere. It's a brilliant and emotional novel, downright genius in the way it captures one (though not uncommon) type of immigrant experience. The narrative and writing style drew me right in, and I am very excited to see more of the author's work in the future (fingers crossed!)
Thank you to Faber for allowing me to read a proof! As a Greek immigrant, I was drawn to 'Born of Guilt' for rather obvious reasons. I was especially interested in reading a novel translated from Bulgarian because I've not read a Balkan or Eastern European novel before. It was as wonderful as I hoped it would be, and I've ordered a copy for my bookshop.
July 21, 2026
Thank you to Faber and Faber Ltd for providing me with an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.
“Born of Guilt” follows three generations of women in Bulgaria, caught in the throes of personal and communal upheaval—regime change, violent marriages, and their own ambitions and fears.
I really enjoy novels that trace the lineage of women—what we inherit and what we seek to break free from—and enjoyed reading a book centred around a country I don’t know very much about.
The book has flashes of incredible writing throughout, but there were also parts of the book where I struggled to understand the characters. The writing was quite descriptive of the external environment but lacked description of the inner worlds of the characters. Perhaps this way of writing makes sense when describing Yana’s mother and grandmother, as the whole point of the novel is about alienation and distance between family, but when it came to Yana herself, I struggled a bit to connect with her and her story.
Overall, an impressive and quietly devastating read, one that I recommend to readers who enjoy literary fiction centred around mothers and daughters. Thank you to Joanna Elmy for bringing words and a spotlight to a corner of the world that is often forgotten but has such a rich and complex history.
“Born of Guilt” follows three generations of women in Bulgaria, caught in the throes of personal and communal upheaval—regime change, violent marriages, and their own ambitions and fears.
I really enjoy novels that trace the lineage of women—what we inherit and what we seek to break free from—and enjoyed reading a book centred around a country I don’t know very much about.
The book has flashes of incredible writing throughout, but there were also parts of the book where I struggled to understand the characters. The writing was quite descriptive of the external environment but lacked description of the inner worlds of the characters. Perhaps this way of writing makes sense when describing Yana’s mother and grandmother, as the whole point of the novel is about alienation and distance between family, but when it came to Yana herself, I struggled a bit to connect with her and her story.
Overall, an impressive and quietly devastating read, one that I recommend to readers who enjoy literary fiction centred around mothers and daughters. Thank you to Joanna Elmy for bringing words and a spotlight to a corner of the world that is often forgotten but has such a rich and complex history.
September 11, 2026
4.5 a beautifully written story of generational trauma, immigration and female identity with some incredibly powerful and visceral sections.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews