“Time Shelter” by Bulgarian writer Geogi Gospodinov is on Booker International Prize shortlist

Georgi Gospodinov's novel "Time Shelter" is on the shortlist for the Booker International Prize, the organisers said on April 18. Georgi Gospodinov is the first Bulgarian author nominated for the prestigious international literary award.

“Time Shelter” is translated from Bulgarian by Angela Rodel.

It’s an inventive novel with an unexpectedly cheeky tone to it. But it’s also a subversive masterclass in the absurdities of national identity: so relevant now. Part of a tradition of East Central Europe that includes Milan Kundera, Dubravka Ugrešić and Danilo Kiš, it’s a fresh staging of old questions: the danger of selective memory, the inheritance of trauma, and how nostalgia can take a grip on society and become a comfort blanket – or a cancer,’ the judges said.

"This is a huge success both for the writer and for Bulgarian literature," Stefan Tafrov commented on the social network.

The winner of this year’s prize will be announced on May 23 at a ceremony in London.

Images by BGNES