Bai Ganyo

A comic classic of world literature, Aleko Konstantinov’s 1895 novel Bai Ganyo follows the misadventures of rose-oil salesman Ganyo Balkanski (“Bai” is a Bulgarian title of intimate respect) as he travels in Europe. Unkempt but endearing, Bai Ganyo blusters his way through refined society in Vienna, Dresden, and St. Petersburg with an eye peeled for pickpockets and a free lunch. Konstantinov’s satire turns darker when Bai Ganyo returns home—bullying, bribing, and rigging elections in Bulgaria, a new country that had recently emerged piecemeal from the Ottoman Empire with the help of Czarist Russia. Bai Ganyo has been translated into most European languages, but now Victor Friedman and his fellow translators have finally brought this Balkan masterpiece to English-speaking readers, accompanied by a helpful introduction, glossary, and notes. Winner, Bulgarian Studies Association Book Prize Finalist, Foreword Magazine’s Multicultural Fiction Book of the Year Winner, John D. Bell Book Prize, Bulgarian Studies Association Best Books for Special Interests, selected by the American Association for School Libraries Best Books for High Schools, selected by the American Association for School Libraries Best Books for Special Interests, selected by the Public Library Association

In writings about travel, the Balkans appear most often as a place travelled to. Western accounts of the Balkans revel in the different and the exotic, the violent and the primitive − traits that serve (according to many commentators) as a foil to self-congratulatory definitions of the West as modern, progressive and rational. However, the Balkans have also long been travelled from. The region's writers have given accounts of their travels in the West and elsewhere, saying something in the process about themselves and their place in the world. The analyses presented here, ranging from those of 16th-century Greek humanists to 19th-century Romanian reformers to 20th-century writers, socialists and 'men-of-the-world', suggest that travellers from the region have also created their own identities through their encounters with Europe. Consequently, this book challenges assumptions of Western discursive hegemony, while at the same time exploring Balkan 'Occidentalisms'.

The conceptual metaphor of ""distance"" plays a crucial role in current perceptions of the world and humans' various interactions within it. It hardly seems possible to conceptualize space and time, emotional involvement in events, and relationships with other people in terms other than ""distance"". As a consequence, this primarily spatial concept figures prominently in the verbal expression of these abstract notions, and is thus highly relevant for the analysis of linguistic phenomena. In recen ...

Bulgaria became a member of the European Union in 2007, yet its history is amongst the least well known in the rest of the continent. R. J. Crampton provides here a general introduction to this country at the cross-roads of Christendom and Islam. The text and illustrations trace the rich and dramatic story from pre-history, through the days when Bulgaria was the centre of a powerful medieval empire and the five centuries of Ottoman rule, to the cultural renaissance of the nineteenth century and the political upheavals of the twentieth, upheavals which led Bulgaria into three wars. This updated edition includes the years from 1995 to 2004, a vital period in which Bulgaria endured financial meltdown, set itself seriously on the road to reform, elected its former King as prime minister, and finally secured membership of NATO and admission to the European Union.

The Polyphony of Food explores food as a multiple discourse in the context of Abraham Maslow’s theory of the hierarchy of human needs and motivations. In Maslow’s theory, food as a basic psychological need belongs to the tier of D (deficit) needs. However, it is the author’s assumption that food and eating cut across the whole hierarchical board of human motivations. In many cases, food takes on compensatory functions and stands for other needs, thus satisfying the entire range of D, and even of B (being) needs. Food is an expression of material culture and marks dominant social distinctions in society, such as gender, class, religion, age, profession and ethnicity. Apart from being highly ritualized, food serves to highlight what people find beautiful or ugly, what they view as acceptable and unacceptable, proper or improper. Numerous illustrations and anecdotes aim to prove that food and meals are a means to feel safe and secure, to affirm cultural and social identity, and to serve as a vehicle of bonding, affiliation, belonging, acceptance, love and esteem as well as a means of self-actualization. A special emphasis is placed on the concept of food appropriateness which is linked to politeness and viewed from several standpoints.

Conversations on a Train' is a light-hearted cross-cultural account of one Bulgarian's life between their country of birth and her adopted home in Australia. Set between 1993–2015, it is a collection of anecdotes, musings, and reminiscences on Bulgarian culture, childhood and homesickness. Regina Ryan (née Stefanova) illustrates how Bulgarians relate to the world and how she adjusted to life in Australia. From her teenage years in Sofia and Burgas through to adulthood in Perth, Regina discusses cultural differences and how she deals with these now as an adult who divides her time between two countries. 'Conversations on a Train' is also Regina's blatant attempt to Bulgarianise the reader.