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Georgi Gospodinov

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For the Bulgarian Olympic water polo player, see Georgi Gospodinov (water polo).

Georgi Gospodinov
Gospodinov circa 2005
Gospodinov circa 2005
Native name
Георги Господинов
Born (1968-01-07) January 7, 1968 (age 56)
Yambol, Bulgaria
Notable worksThe Physics of Sorrow (2012); Time Shelter (2020)
Notable awards
SpouseBilyana Kourtasheva

Georgi Gospodinov Georgiev (Bulgarian: Георги Господинов Георгиев; born January 7, 1968) is a Bulgarian writer, poet and playwright. His novel Time Shelter received the 2023 International Booker Prize, shared with translator Angela Rodel, as well as the Strega European Prize.[1][2] His novel The Physics of Sorrow received the Jan Michalski Prize and the Angelus Award.[1][3][4] His works have been translated into 25 languages.[4]

Gospodinov writes complex narratives, based on the recent past of Eastern Europe and present anxieties across Europe and worldwide.[5] His works often blend poetry into fiction and irony. According to The New Yorker, "Georgi's real quest in The Physics of Sorrow is to find a way to live with sadness, to allow it to be a source of empathy and salutary hesitation…"[5]

Career

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Novels

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Gospodinov began writing poetry in the early 1990s, publishing two books Lapidarium (Лапидариум, 1992) and The cherry of a people (Черешата на един народ, 1996) which received national literary prizes[which?] in his native Bulgaria. He became internationally known by his Natural Novel, which was published in 21 languages. Described by The New Yorker as an "anarchic, experimental debut",[6] and by The Guardian as "both earthy and intellectual", the novel explores the life of a young writer in post-communism Bulgaria.[7]

Gospodinov's 2001 collection of short stories And Other Stories was longlisted for Frank O'Connor Award and translated into multiple languages. It contains the story "Blind Vaysha", which was turned into a short animation film of the same name.[8]

He co-authored the graphic novel The Eternal Fly, published in 2010, with the artist Nikola Toromanov.[9]

His second novel, The Physics of Sorrow (2012), won the Bulgarian National Award for Best Novel of the Year 2013[citation needed] and was translated into multiple languages. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung praised the novel as "a gorgeous work that should definitely be read". According to Neue Zurcher Zeitung "with Physics of Sorrow Gospodinov launches not only the Bulgarian literature but also himself in the European writers' first league."[10] In 2014, the Italian edition of the novel was shortlisted for the Strega European Prize; the German edition was a finalist for Internationaler Literaturpreis – Haus der Kulturen der Welt and Brücke Berlin Literatur- und Übersetzerpreis.[11] From January to June 2019, Gospodinov was writer-in-residence of the Literaturhaus Zurich [de] and the PWG Foundation [de] in Zurich.[citation needed]

His novel Time Shelter, first published in 2020, has also been translated into multiple languages. It was described by author Olga Tokarczuk as "the most exquisite kind of literature, on our perception of time and its passing, written in a masterful and totally unpredictable style."[12] Newspaper La Repubblica described Gospodinov as "a Proust coming from the East",[2] while author Sandro Veronesi described Time Shelter as "a powerful and brilliant novel: clear-sighted, foreboding, enigmatic. A novel in which the future gives way like a rotten beam and the past rushes in like a flood."[13] For Time Shelter, Gospodinov was awarded the Strega European Prize in 2021 and the English translation by Angela Rodel received the International Booker Prize in 2023.[14]

Films

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Gospodinov wrote two screenplays for two short feature films[contradictory]. His screenplay for Omelette received an Honorable Mention at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.[15]

The 2016 animated short Blind Vaysha by Bulgarian-Canadian filmmaker Theodore Ushev is based on a Gospodinov short story.[16] It was nominated for the Best Animated Short at the 89th Academy Awards.[17] In 2019, Ushev released another animated short film adaptation of Gospodinov's work, The Physics of Sorrow.[18]

Awards and nominations

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Bibliography

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  • Natural Novel. Translated by Hristova, Zornitsa. London: Dalkey Archive Press. 2005. ISBN 978-1-56478-376-9 – via Internet Archive. (Bulgarian: Естествен роман, English translation by Zornitza Hristova, 2005)
  • And Other Stories, 2001 (Bulgarian: И други истории, English translation by Alexis Levitin, 2007)
  • The Story Smuggler. Translated by Kovacheva, Kristina; Gunn, Dan. Paris and London: Center for Writers and Translators at the American University of Paris and Sylph Editions. 2016. ISBN 978-1-909631-20-5 – via Internet Archive.
  • The Physics of Sorrow. Translated by Rodel, Angela. Rochester, NY: Open Letter. 2015. ISBN 978-1-940953-09-0 – via Internet Archive. (Bulgarian: Физика на тъгата, English translation by Angela Rodel, 2015)
  • Time Shelter. 2020. (Bulgarian: Времеубежище; English translation by Angela Rodel; French translation by Marie Vrinat-Nikolov)[28]
  • The Gardener and Death. 2024. (Bulgarian: Градинарят и смъртта, romanized: Gradinaryat i smărtta)[29]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Gospodinov, Georgi (30 March 2023). Time Shelter | Georgi Gospodinov | London Review Bookshop. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 978-1-4746-2307-0.
  2. ^ a b "Reading guide: Time Shelter by Georgi Gospodinov, translated by Angela Rodel | The Booker Prizes". thebookerprizes.com. 24 April 2023. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  3. ^ ""Physics of Sorrow", winner of Jan Michalski Prize, comes to Iranian bookstores". Tehran Times. 16 May 2023. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Bulgarian Author is Nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature - Novinite.com - Sofia News Agency". www.novinite.com. 26 May 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  5. ^ a b Greenwell, Garth (17 April 2015). "The Bulgarian Sadness of Georgi Gospodinov". The New Yorker. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  6. ^ "Natural Novel". The New Yorker. 6 March 2005.
  7. ^ Seymenliyska, Elena (19 February 2005). "Books | Bulgaria, boredom and radical bowls". The Guardian.
  8. ^ Canada, National Film Board of, Blind Vaysha, retrieved 24 May 2023
  9. ^ "Georgi Gospodinov | The Booker Prizes". thebookerprizes.com. 7 January 1968. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  10. ^ "Georgi Gospodinov: Physik der Schwermut. Roman".
  11. ^ http://www.buchmarkt.de/content/58819-sechs-kandidaten-fuer-den-bruecke-berlin-preis [dead link‍]
  12. ^ "81 Writers on the Books They Loved in 2021". Literary Hub. 27 December 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  13. ^ Time Shelter. 12 November 2021. ISBN 978-1-4746-2309-4.
  14. ^ "Time Shelter | The Booker Prizes". thebookerprizes.com. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  15. ^ "Omlet (Short 2008) - IMDb". IMDb.
  16. ^ Duchesne, André (29 November 2016). "Vaysha l'aveugle voit du pays". La Presse (in Canadian French). Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  17. ^ "Bulgarian-Directed Short Film Gets Oscar Nomination - Novinite.com". Sofia News Agency. 24 January 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  18. ^ Dan Sarto, "Theodore Ushev's New Short 'The Physics of Sorrow' to Premiere at TIFF 2019". Animation World Network, August 1, 2019.
  19. ^ "The International Booker Prize 2023 | The Booker Prizes". thebookerprizes.com. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  20. ^ "Bulgarian writer Georgi Gospodinov has been nominated for the Nobel Prize | Radio Bulgaria". bnr.bg. 25 May 2022. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  21. ^ "Georgi Gospodinov, Cronorifugio (Time Shelter), translated by Giuseppe Dell'Agata – Voland | Premio Gregor von Rezzori". premiogregorvonrezzori.org. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  22. ^ Accardo, Gian-Paolo (23 July 2020). "Georgi Gospodinov". voxeurop.eu. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  23. ^ "Bulgarian Writer Georgi Gospodinov Wins Danish Literary Award". bta.bg. 13 March 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  24. ^ a b Bureau, ABP News (24 May 2023). "International Booker Prize 2023: All You Need To Know About Winners Georgi Gospodinov, Angela R". news.abplive.com. Retrieved 31 May 2023. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  25. ^ "Pro-za Balkan". www.prozabalkan.mk. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  26. ^ "BTA. Bulgarian Novel Nominated for Three International Prizes Took Four Years to Write, Explores 20-Year-Old Idea". armenpress.am. 19 March 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  27. ^ a b c UCL (5 July 2017). "A meeting with Bulgarian writer Georgi Gospodinov". UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES). Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  28. ^ "Georgi Gospodinov's novel "Time Shelter" to be published in France and USA". BNR Radio Bulgaria. 16 December 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  29. ^ "Writer Georgi Gospodinov's New Book "The Gardener and Death" to Be Released August 27". Bulgarian News Agency. 9 August 2024. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
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