Alkohol by Kalin Terzojski and Dejana Dragoeva, translated into German by Viktoria Dimitrova Popova

I always keep my literary promises to myself. In the last 24 months or so, I´ve constantly improved my knowledge about authors and literary realms usually outside the English-speaking areas of interest. Thankftul to translations into German or French, I had access to an impressive number of Bulgarian authors,some of them I already reviewed on my blog, some to be soon introduced to my readers. I do have many other authors on my to-read and to-review list, representing languages and countries rarely approached, that hopefully will write about in the next months. 

My latest book representing the Bulgarian literature has a name that resonates a lot with the post-communist daily life - Alkohol. My loved ones warned me that that´s maybe not something really worth reading it, but little they knew about the life after dictatorship for many intellectuals. Indeed, there were Hemingway and Poe and Jim Morrison before them, but for those enjoying the freedom of life without political restrictions, drinking had a completely different meaning. 

Kalin Terzojski wrote both an autobiographical as an insighttful account of life of an alcoholic. A psychiatrist by profession that abandoned the field for dedicating himself to literary endeavours - meagre financial resources were an important reason, among others - Terzojski is sharing in his debut novel the sudden challenges of the Bulgarian society, especially in the literary field. 

Alcohol is the steady companion through the changes and frustrations. Drinking comes in all sizes, colours and prices. Cheaper, because it suits the budget of a literary scribe. Strong because one needs a slap early in the morning. In small bottles because you can hide it and take a sip when no ones watches.

I have a lot of memories of post-communist people and their alcohol companionship. Until today I am wondering what a brain trick allowed them to keep a decent writing and ideatic coherence. 

Alkohol, translated into German by Viktoria Dimitrova Popova, is full of humour, relatable - especially for someone with some fresh memories of post-communism, and precise in its symptomatic outline. I was so pleased with this author that I already ordered his second book, alo translated into German, that will probably start reading in the next ten days. Until then, there is another Bulgarian author I am preparing to review so stay tunned.

Rating: 4 stars