Aleko Ivanitsov Konstantinov, also known as Shtastlivetsa ("The Lucky Guy") is best known for his feuilletons and as the creator of the character Bay Ganyo, one of the most popular characters in Bulgarian fiction.
Konstantinov, a cosmopolitan traveler, was the first Bulgarian to write about his visits to Western Europe and America. His visits to the World Exhibitions in Paris, Prague and Chicago provided Bulgarian readers, who had recently gained independence from nearly 500 years of Turkish Ottoman oppression, with a portrait of the developed world.
H械 was assassinated in 1897 near Radilovo while traveling to Peshtera, most likely by mistake with the target being his friend (a local politician), with whom he had just changed places.
Add two stars if you are a non-Bulgarian who wants to understand Bulgaria.
If you are coming to Bulgaria to visit or live and want to read one book about the culture, instead of wasting your time reading a boring history book which is probably full of lies, read this book, a new translation of a classic work of Bulgarian literature. Here's why: -- At under US$20, it's relatively cheap for a new book. -- It's short. -- It's reasonably funny. -- The book is made up of an set of interlocking comic short stories, some of which can be read in their entirety in the time between the time when the stewardess tells you to turn off your electronic devices to prepare for landing and the time when you are allowed to turn them back on again. -- It was translated in sections by four native-English speakers who are clearly enthusiastic about Bulgarian culture and also know how to explain it to newbies. -- It was edited by one of the four translators, who pulled the various translations together into a seamless whole. -- The introduction provides excellent cultural and political background 鈥� it's worth reading before you start. -- All Bulgarians that you are likely to talk to here (meaning, anyone educated enough to speak some English) will have read this in school, know it, and have an opinion about it. They will be impressed that you have made the effort to read a work of Bulgarian literature, even in translation. If given a chance, they will spend a long time making sure you fully understand the historical, linguistic, and social context of the book, thus relieving you of the necessity of making conversation yourself, perhaps even for the entire evening.
Bai Ganyo's full name is Ganyo Balkanski 鈥� 鈥淏ai鈥� is a title of respect. He's a kind of caricature of a national type, roughly analogous to Sinclair Lewis's Babbitt in the US or Colonel Blimp in England. In the opening stories, he's a light-hearted satire. A travelling rose-oil salesman, he starts the book by barging through 1890's Europe in search of free food, drink, and lodging, suspicious of pickpockets everywhere. He's critical of whatever nationalities he's meeting in one breath, and talking about the significance of being European the next.
When he returns to Bulgaria, Bai Ganyo changes from being a comic yokel to a blustering hoodlum, and the stories take a darker comic turn. He fixes elections, starts an irresponsible newspaper, and hires thugs to beat people up. The book notes indicate that the author, an aspiring politician as well as a writer who was eventually murdered under mysterious circumstances, was able to draw on his experience on the receiving end of this type of behavior to make the stories believable.
But this book is not just a museum piece. A lot of the issues that pop up in this book are still in play today. With Bulgaria recently in the EU, there's still a tremendous amount of talk here about what it means to be European, whether it actually worth being European, and so on. Another example: the introduction talks about the difficulty in translating the flavor of Bai Ganyo's Turkish-influenced dialect, which was the 鈥渉illbilly-speak鈥� of its day, marking you as a provincial. Today, the use of Turkish-derived words in popular and youth culture is still a matter of controversy; a sign of rebellion on one side of the cultural divide and a matter of much wailing and gnashing of teeth by the guardians of language purity on the other.
This book really helped me understand the Bulgarian heritage. The first part was very entertaining, as it related the many tales of Bai Ganyo. However, the second half, when it delved into political satire was less so interesting as Alekko was satirizing long dead politicians.
The other interesting thing was the realization that every culture has their own Bai Ganyos.
It is supposed to be funny but it wasn't. It was obnoxious. We Bulgarian a have our fair share of idiots but we are not idiots. The tendency of my culture to generalize and focus on negative traits is frustrating. We always didn't get smth right but someone else always did. We most recently went head over heels with the Americans only to be reminded of Churchill who said that Americans get things right after having tried and failed everything else. The comedy of reality is as present in Bulgaria as it is everywhere.
Really 3.5 stars, but the writing itself deserves rounding up.
I understand that these stories are considered Bulgarian classics. However, Ganyo is such an incredibly obnoxious character that I'm finding it hard to believe citizens would want him as someone to be associated with their country? He reminded me of a literary character I grew to loathe: Augustus from A Confederacy of Dunces.
The tales carry a tone strongly reminiscent of Yiddish literature, ironic as Ganyo often directs an anti-Semitic oath chifuti! (Yehudi) towards those he feels "beneath" him. The Yiddish term "schnorrer" describes him very well.
Part One, his travels through Western Europe, were often humorous, not particularly dated. The second section, focusing on post-independence politics, seemed horribly dated unless one is a scholar of the period. I skimmed through those entries hopping from footnote to footnote. A straight translation without references would have made even the funniest story rough going; they are essential.
Okay so this is a more comedy related bulgarian book. The author is Aleko Konstantinov. Title - Bai Ganio - the name of the main character. This book makes me laugh every time I read it. It's about a bulgarian who travels along Europe / and there is a part when he is in Bulgaria also / and shows his amazingly hilarious character. This book will make you laugh really hard I promise you that! Bai Ganio captures parts of the bulgarian nature in a funny way but also makes you think about serious problems that nature has! A great book in my opinion! Hope that was helpful!
I really, really liked this book - but there was so much I didn't get because of the cultural references (which, I think was the point and that make it great). I think it could be one of my favourite books if I had a Bulgarian book club, Bulgarian friends who would be willing to patiently discuss it with me. I hope to come back to it in a few months or years when I'm more versed in everything Bulgaria.
1894 tarihli Bay Gan眉 Balkanski, yeni ba臒谋ms谋zl谋臒谋n谋 kazanm谋艧 Bulgaristan鈥檇a, k枚yl眉l眉kten orta s谋n谋f t眉ccarl谋臒a do臒ru s谋n谋f atlayan bir tiplemenin arac谋l谋臒谋yla, o zamanlar谋n Bulgar (ve Balkan) toplumunu hicvediyor. Bay Gan眉, asl谋nda bize hi莽 de yabanc谋 olmayan bir anti-kahraman: Nezaketi zay谋fl谋k sayan, kaba-saba, cimri, bedavac谋, asalak, a莽谋kg枚z ge莽inen ve hep 莽谋kar谋n谋n pe艧inde ko艧an bir g眉l suyu t眉ccar谋. Favori laf谋 ve hayat谋n谋n amac谋: 鈥淜elepir鈥�. Kitab谋n ilk yar谋s谋ndaki hik芒yelerde Gan眉鈥檔眉n, Avrupa seyahatinde musallat oldu臒u ki艧ileri kabal谋klar谋yla bunaltmas谋, t眉rl眉 rezaletler 莽谋karmas谋 konu edilmi艧. 陌kinci yar谋s谋nda ise, Avrupa鈥檇an d枚nen Bay Gan眉鈥檔眉n art谋k kasaba e艧raf谋ndan biri olarak kabul edilmesiyle, milletvekilli臒ine kadar giden yolda yapt谋臒谋 莽e艧itli madrabazl谋klar谋 okuyoruz. Bu k谋s谋mdaki trajikomik hik芒yeler siyasi hicvin se莽kin 枚rnekleri say谋labilir. Bug眉n de 枚rneklerini g枚rd眉臒眉m眉z bu olaylar, k枚yl眉 kurnazl谋臒谋n谋n idealizme, pop眉list muhafazak芒rl谋臒谋n ilericili臒e galip gelmesi a莽谋s谋ndan, bana Aziz Nesin鈥檌n Z眉b眉k鈥櫭糿眉 hat谋rlatt谋. (陌lk 莽evirisi 1941鈥檇e yap谋lm谋艧 Bay Gan眉鈥檡眉 Aziz Nesin okumu艧tur diye tahmin ediyorum.) Sonu莽ta, iki toplum birbirine o kadar benziyor ki, Bay Gan眉, H谋rs谋z Danko, laf ebesi avukat Gunyo, kaypak 枚臒renci Bodkov 枚yle bizden tipler ki, 莽arp谋kl谋klar谋n ayn谋 olmas谋na 艧a艧mamal谋. Son bir not olarak, kitab谋n 鈥溑焌nsl谋 adam鈥� (Shtastlivetsa) lakapl谋 yazar谋 Aleko Konstantinov鈥檜n bir suikaste kurban gitti臒ini ve ger莽ekten 枚ld眉r眉lmek istenen ki艧inin kendisi mi yoksa birlikte yolculuk etti臒i politikac谋 m谋 oldu臒u sorusunun ayd谋nlat谋lamad谋臒谋n谋 da belirteyim.
Bay Ganyo is an interesting character, contrasting with his balkan counterpart, Alexis Zorbas, he is in a constant pursuit of happiness but the road he follows seems to be more pragmatic and anchored in reality rather than idealistic. Materialism is at the core of Bay Ganyo, he is a survivor, a societal chameleon that will take any opportunity to make his life easier and achieve the most of every situation he might face. Aleko Konstantinov uses Bay Ganyo to express his feelings towards the political class, but in the same time it teaches you trough this character how to adapt and survive in these harsh social environments. I highly recommend reading this book paired up with Alexis Zorbas, that's how you will get both perspectives of great Balkan wisdom.