Laura and Other Stories

Bookended by two tales of love, loss and powerful brandy in Bulgaria, are stories of a sickly dreamer isolated in the harsh desert life of the village of Trun, and of a teacher, more nervous than her students, beginning work in a strange new town.

These four tales from Bulgarian author Zdravka Evtimova showcase a distinct fictional voice of deadpan magic realism and thorny lyricism. Her characters, by turns stony and sensitive, find what means they can to endure or overcome their mute predicaments.