WESTERN MODELS, EASTERN FOLLOWERS: BULGARIAN CRIME FICTION FROM SOCIALISM TO POST-SOCIALISM
| dc.contributor.author | Bressan, Francesco | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-02-16T16:26:48Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2026-02-16T16:26:48Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2026 | |
| dc.description.abstract | This article analyzes the evolution of Bulgarian crime fiction from the socialist period (1944-1989) to the post-socialist era, focusing on the work of Bulgarian writer Andrei Gulyashki and on various elements of crime prose as a mirror of the country's sociopolitical transformations. During the socialist period authors such as Andrei Gulyashki created ideologized heroes like Avakum Zakhov, a socialist counterpart to James Bond, who operated within the rigid narrative boundaries imposed by socialist realism. The genre served both as a propaganda tool and as a form of controlled escapism. The comparison between the Russian translation, faithful to the original work, and the English translation of the novel Momchilovo Case demonstrates substantial differences. With the fall of the regime in 1989, detective fiction underwent a radical metamorphosis: incorruptible heroes gave way to morally ambiguous antiheroes, reflecting the chaos, corruption, and crisis of values of the post-communist transition. Through textual and comparative analysis, this article demonstrates how Bulgarian crime fiction has maintained a national specificity while dialoguing with Western traditions, functioning as a literary barometer of the country's historical upheavals. | |
| dc.identifier.issn | 3033-0599 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://doi.uni-plovdiv.bg/handle/store/985 | |
| dc.language.iso | other | |
| dc.publisher | Plovdiv University Press | |
| dc.subject | Bulgarian crime fiction | |
| dc.subject | spy novel | |
| dc.subject | Avakum Zakhov | |
| dc.subject | Andrei Gulyashki | |
| dc.subject | genre literature | |
| dc.title | WESTERN MODELS, EASTERN FOLLOWERS: BULGARIAN CRIME FICTION FROM SOCIALISM TO POST-SOCIALISM | |
| dc.type | Article |