Ellis Shuman is the author of the new story collection Rakiya: Stories of Bulgaria. His other books include The Virtual Kibbutz. He lives in Israel.
Q: Over how long a period did you write the stories in your collection?
A: I’ve been writing ever since I was a boy. Creative writing was my favorite subject in school, and the feedback from my teachers encouraged me. I wanted to follow in my father’s footsteps—he was a journalist at the local newspaper—but I was always drawn to writing fiction.
My first book was a collection of short stories set in Israel, where I had moved with my family at the age of 15. The stories were based on my experiences living on a kibbutz, a collective farming community in Israel’s southern desert. Life on the kibbutz was evolving, from socialist idealism to modern capitalism, and I strived to show these changes in my fiction.
I wrote two suspense novels set in Bulgaria, but I’ve gravitated to the craft of writing short stories. I enjoy the format of introducing characters and plots in a limited number of words. In many ways, this is more challenging than writing a novel.
Several of my stories deal with life in Israel, including a story about residents of a Jerusalem retirement home that was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Other stories deal with the challenges facing writers, travels in Italy, and the complexities of modern life.
But in the past five years I’ve written several short stories set in Bulgaria, a country which was my home for two years.
Q: Can you say more about your relationship to Bulgaria? And what do you see as some common perceptions and misconceptions about the country?
A: It came as a shock to me when my boss in a Tel Aviv online marketing company informed me that my position was being relocated to Sofia, Bulgaria. He said that I could continue in my job if I moved to Sofia for two years; otherwise, someone would be appointed to replace me. And, I had one week to decide whether to accept the relocation offer.
My wife and I accepted the challenge. Our children had grown up and left home; our parents were still healthy enough to take care of themselves; and we found someone to house-sit our cats for the duration of our overseas stay. We packed our bags and set up home in the Bulgarian capital.
I knew little about Bulgaria before we arrived. Bulgaria was a former Communist country, but otherwise I wasn’t familiar with its history. I had seen brochures advertising its Black Sea resorts, but what else was there to see there? Bulgarians spoke a language similar to Russian and wrote in an undecipherable Cyrillic script—everything was so strange, and foreign.
To our surprise, my wife and I fell in love with Bulgaria. We traveled extensively, visiting its picturesque villages and enjoying its stunning nature—mountains, rivers, rocky and sandy seashores. We were entranced by Bulgaria’s rich and colorful culture and traditions.
Bulgaria is a secular country but with a strong regard for its religious heritage. Centuries-old monasteries attract pilgrims and visitors.
One thing surprised us more than anything else, and that was the story of how Bulgaria rescued its Jewish citizens during World War II. Despite Bulgaria being aligned with the Nazis, not a single member of its 50,000 Jews was sent to the concentration camps.
That said, 11,343 Jews from Thrace and Macedonia, regions under Bulgarian control during the war, were deported and sent to their deaths in Auschwitz. This was a story I had to tell, and I knew it was something that would play a role one day in my fiction.
Q: How did you decide on the order in which the stories would appear in the collection?
A: There are 12 short stories in Rakiya – Stories of Bulgaria. Some of the stories are told in the voices of native Bulgarians, while others come from the perspectives of foreigners visiting and experiencing the country for the first time. Working as an Israeli in Sofia on a relocation contract, it was natural to include many Israelis among the characters in the book.
The book starts with the title story, and that is followed by the others set in no particular order. Some characters make return appearances in other stories.
The story dealing with Bulgaria’s Jews during the years of the Holocaust is the longest in the book. Admittedly, it is more serious than the others. I had never previously written historical fiction, so I also related to this incredible period of Bulgarian history through the eyes of modern-day Israelis and Bulgarians.
I decided to end the book on a lighter note. The final story contains a humorous story-within-a-story, and it brings closure to the other stories. The story ends with its protagonist, an Israeli working in Bulgaria on a short-term contract, walking down a dark Sofia street, fascinated by his Bulgarian experiences and not knowing what wonders he would next discover about the country.
Q: How was the book’s title, also the title of one of the stories, chosen, and what does it signify for you?
A: Rakiya is the traditional Bulgarian alcoholic drink, particularly enjoyed when it is homemade with a very high alcoholic content. Bulgarians typically drink rakiya with their meals, raising it in a toast while looking each other directly in the eyes. “Nazdrave!” they said. “To your health!”
I acquired a taste for rakiya during the years I lived in Sofia, but more than that, I enjoyed everything about Bulgarian culture. The fresh salads and the tasty cuisine. The mesmerizing costumes and chants of Bulgarian men performing traditional rituals intended to scare away evil spirits. The fortresses and tombs attesting to Bulgaria’s magnificent past. And the modern high-tech infrastructure and well-educated youth, attesting to Bulgaria’s bright future.
Rakiya—the drink—symbolized the Bulgarian experience for me and that is why I chose it as the name for my short story collection
Q: What are you working on now?
A: An author’s work is never done. Getting a first draft written is hard enough, but that is followed by extensive editing, a task that, if successful, will make the author’s message shine.
Even after a book is published, there is more work to do. It doesn’t matter if you are traditionally published or self-published, if you don’t market your book, no one will know of it. Although many writers say they write for themselves, myself included, a book can only truly be successful if others read and enjoy it.
I am currently concentrating on marketing Rakiya – Stories of Bulgaria. I know I will return to writing fiction very shortly, but whether it will be additional short stories or the long form of a novel, only time will tell. I look forward to the journey.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: Ever since I returned to Israel after the end of my relocation contract, I have strived to share Bulgaria with those not familiar with the country.
I have written travel reports, introducing readers to the historic sites worth visiting. I have written book reviews of modern Bulgarian literature. And I have set my fiction in the country.
Bulgaria is a fascinating place to visit, and if, through my writing, readers will consider including Bulgaria in their travel plans, I will feel that I’ve accomplished my mission. Nazdrave!
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
No comments:
Post a Comment