The Shadow Land
by Elizabeth Kostova
by Elizabeth Kostova
Bulgaria is the only former Soviet Republic country that I've visited. I can't honestly say that I truly experienced the country since I was traveling for work, mostly saw the inside of government buildings, and did not venture outside of the capital of Sofia. I did, however, meet some wonderful people, dine in some excellent restaurants, and enjoy drinking rakiya, which is Bulgaria's signature alcoholic beverage ... a very potent one, so be cautious if you decide to partake!
What I loved about this novel was it's theme of the motherland and the characters' passion for their beloved country, which had been terribly abused by the Germans during World War II and subsequently the Russians. The author, Elizabeth Kostova is American but very immersed in Bulgaria, primarily through her marriage to a Bulgarian but also through her work as co-founder of the Elizabeth Kostova Foundation. According to her website, the Foundation "provides competitive opportunities for Bulgarian writers and translators, as well as opportunities for native-English writers to travel to Bulgaria." How cool is that???
The Shadow Land is exactly the kind of story I wanted to explore, country by country, when I set out to write this blog ... stories about Americans who find themselves in a new place, a new culture, surrounded by new people, and about how they are ultimately shaped and changed by those experiences. In Kostova's novel, we explore Bulgaria through the eyes of Alexandra, a young American woman who has just arrived in Sofia, and before she even checks into a hotel, finds herself accidentally in possession of the cremated remains of a stranger. Determined to return the ashes to the grieving family, she befriends a local taxi driver, Bobby, and together they set out to solve the mystery of the ashes, which are only identified by the name Stoyan Lazarov inscribed on the urn. As Alexandra and Bobby string together bits of information, they travel across Bulgaria and learn not only about Lazarov's family and personal life, but also about the dark secrets of Bulgaria's history while under Russian rule. As they uncover more details about Lazarov's traumatic past, the novel's historical intrigue merges with the present when a powerful political figure tries to stop them from discovering the truth.
In the backdrop are multiple poignant themes of loss and regret. Alexandra has come to Bulgaria as a way to honor her brother, who disappeared years before after a family argument, never to be heard from again or found. His unexplained, somewhat random fascination with Bulgaria drew Alexandra there ... externally, to teach English, but internally, to try to feel a connection to her brother and to reconcile his painful absence from her life. In parallel, Bobby stoically grieves his own losses ... of family, of his career, and most importantly, of his idealistic hopes for what his country might become as it emerges from Communism. And of course, there is the more obvious loss of Lazarov's life, which we learn had happened not in one final moment, but rather slowly, for decades, as a result of the ugly power struggle and violence within Bulgaria during and after the war.
Having lived overseas and traveled extensively outside of the United States, I have always felt inspired and moved by the shared human trait of passion for a geographical place. For some, like Lazarov and Bobby, it is where you were born. For others, like Kostova and ultimately Alexandra, it is a place to which you are inexplicably drawn and where you may find a sense of belonging that you'd never experienced before. This concept resonates throughout this novel, which I thoroughly enjoyed and heartily recommend.
What I loved about this novel was it's theme of the motherland and the characters' passion for their beloved country, which had been terribly abused by the Germans during World War II and subsequently the Russians. The author, Elizabeth Kostova is American but very immersed in Bulgaria, primarily through her marriage to a Bulgarian but also through her work as co-founder of the Elizabeth Kostova Foundation. According to her website, the Foundation "provides competitive opportunities for Bulgarian writers and translators, as well as opportunities for native-English writers to travel to Bulgaria." How cool is that???
The Shadow Land is exactly the kind of story I wanted to explore, country by country, when I set out to write this blog ... stories about Americans who find themselves in a new place, a new culture, surrounded by new people, and about how they are ultimately shaped and changed by those experiences. In Kostova's novel, we explore Bulgaria through the eyes of Alexandra, a young American woman who has just arrived in Sofia, and before she even checks into a hotel, finds herself accidentally in possession of the cremated remains of a stranger. Determined to return the ashes to the grieving family, she befriends a local taxi driver, Bobby, and together they set out to solve the mystery of the ashes, which are only identified by the name Stoyan Lazarov inscribed on the urn. As Alexandra and Bobby string together bits of information, they travel across Bulgaria and learn not only about Lazarov's family and personal life, but also about the dark secrets of Bulgaria's history while under Russian rule. As they uncover more details about Lazarov's traumatic past, the novel's historical intrigue merges with the present when a powerful political figure tries to stop them from discovering the truth.
In the backdrop are multiple poignant themes of loss and regret. Alexandra has come to Bulgaria as a way to honor her brother, who disappeared years before after a family argument, never to be heard from again or found. His unexplained, somewhat random fascination with Bulgaria drew Alexandra there ... externally, to teach English, but internally, to try to feel a connection to her brother and to reconcile his painful absence from her life. In parallel, Bobby stoically grieves his own losses ... of family, of his career, and most importantly, of his idealistic hopes for what his country might become as it emerges from Communism. And of course, there is the more obvious loss of Lazarov's life, which we learn had happened not in one final moment, but rather slowly, for decades, as a result of the ugly power struggle and violence within Bulgaria during and after the war.
Having lived overseas and traveled extensively outside of the United States, I have always felt inspired and moved by the shared human trait of passion for a geographical place. For some, like Lazarov and Bobby, it is where you were born. For others, like Kostova and ultimately Alexandra, it is a place to which you are inexplicably drawn and where you may find a sense of belonging that you'd never experienced before. This concept resonates throughout this novel, which I thoroughly enjoyed and heartily recommend.
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