Product Description

After years on the outside, Bulgaria has finally made it into the EU club, but beyond the cliches about undrinkable plonk, cheap property, and assassins with poison-tipped umbrellas, the country remains a largely unknown quantity. Born on the muddy outskirts of Sofia, Kapka Kassabova grew up under Communism, got away just as soon as she could, and has loved and hated her homeland in equal measure ever since. In this illuminating and entertaining memoir, Kapka revisits Bulgaria and her own muddled relationship to it, travelling back to the scenes of her childhood, sampling its bizarre tourist sites, uncovering its centuries' old history of bloodshed and blurred borders, and capturing the absurdities and idiosyncrasies of her own and her country's past.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #25439 in Books
• Published on: 2009-02-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Review
'A fascinating book - at once evocative, disturbing, and chock-a-block full of charm.' Jan Morris 'A unique memoir of what it was like to grow up in a Communist satellite country. In the mosaic of books about the bad old days, this book is the piece that was always missing. Now we have it, and it shines.' Clive James 'Not many books on the travel shelves have the force of revelation, but this one does - Kapka Kassabova leads us into a country most of us have hardly read about with an elegant assurance, an acid wit and a heart-rending precision that can make you see the world quite differently. This book is a treasure.' Pico Iyer

About the Author
KAPKA KASSABOVA was born in Bulgaria in 1973 and learned to speak English at the age of 16 when her parents emigrated to England and then New Zealand. She now lives in Edinburgh, and is the author of two novels, four poetry collections (the latest, Geography for the Lost, published by Bloodaxe in April 2007) and a couple of travel guides. www.kapka-kassabova.com

Customer Reviews

A darkly humorous and bittersweet delight
Kapka Kassabova's memoir about life in Bulgaria is a bittersweet delight. She grew up in 1980s Communist Bulgaria and has spent the intervening years trying to get away from her homeland. STREET WITHOUT A NAME is the story of her return, and an astringent thrill it is too, by turns touching, poignant and laugh-out-loud funny.
Once one of the more shadowy corners of Communist Europe, Bulgaria was never smeared with the notoriety of Romania or the Slavic states. Instead, it was best known for disturbingly well-formed athletes and ubiquitous moustaches. Since Communism's fall, it has attracted international investment, making it a popular destination for beach-goers - but the native Bulgarians see little of this new wealth. The chasm between utopias - Soviet and now capitalist - and the reality of the Bulgarian lot has not really changed over the decades.
Kassabova remembers the past, never with any hint of resentment or heady nostalgia, but with a straight realistic tone. Each chapter opens with a photograph in black and white, and the writing follows in very readable and acutely personal tenor.
This is a joy, even for those who never thought that they'd be interested in an eastern European backwater.

Bulgaria then and now
A very interesting read, echoing with experiences of Eastern Europe that I have had. Sad, funny and tragic. Highly recommended for people who want to gain understanding of life under communism.

Understanding Bulgaria
This book is a very valuable introduction to understanding attitudes in contemporary Bulgaria. It demonstrates clearly how people were treated by the communist regime and how this has had a long term impact. It is also a hopeful account looking towards a better future. I am invovled with the charity Harvest for the Hungry that takes food and other items from Essex, England, to Bulgaria. Reading A Street without a Name has helped those who have travelled to Bulgaria with the aid.