The Short Afternoon Of One Long Day (Bulgarian Edition)

About The Short Afternoon of a Long Day: The story spans the period from 1986 to 1995. The Iron Curtain is about to fall, and the world as was suddenly no longer is. In a country that will soon be swept by dramatic winds of change, Andrei works at the Foreign Trade company, Emile is a diplomat, Nikolai runs a factory that produces elevators and Ivan belongs to the Secret Service. Four friends, who unwittingly will be caught up in the maelstrom of yesteryear's dramatic historic developments. Their world is changing fast, and they are facing the reality of troubled times, their fears as well as their wildest dreams. Almost overnight, yesterday's enemies have become today's friends. Torn between entrenched ideologies and the taste of power, their paths diverge and their friendships fall by the wayside. The story's narration develops into a kind of twist in which the four main characters, hailing from the former Bulgarian Communist era and forced by the circumstances, must adapt to the changing times and become actively involved in the creation of the country's new political and business elite. The wider scope of the novel does not merely reside in the realistic description of the birth of the elite in these nascent European democracies. At the beginning of the story, the four main characters set out from a level business and political playing field on which, before 1990, they were afforded equal opportunities of successful careers. As a result of the changes society underwent after the fall of the Berlin Wall, they are faced with the reality of having to find alternative business and political positions. And as in every contest, some adapt and succeed, while others don't and hence lose. Since the author developed close links to both the old and new political and business elite, his novel expertly reflects these changes in a vivid and amusing way. Even the erotic encounters in the narrative contribute positively to building up a picture of the novel's main characters. The narrative is so convincing and realistic that with the exception of the first chapter, which depicts happenings that in effect took place in Bulgaria, it is impossible for the reader to distinguish between the scenes that replay actual events or those that are the result of the author's literary imagination. Two main players in that recent history of Bulgaria summed it up as follows: "The novel recounts the events in which I participated with photographic precision." (General Atanas Semerdjiev, former Vice President and Army Chief of Staff) and "This novel accurately describes the reality it depicts." (Kiril Tsotchev, Deputy Chairman of the Bulgarian Parliament, former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade). Vesselin Blagoev wrote this biographic novel following a distinguished career as a businessman, politician and university professor. In 1985 he proposed to the Politburo of the Bulgarian Communist party changes in their planning and management system that were favourably viewed and supported by the National Bank and the Ministry of finance. In 1990 he took part in the Bulgarian Round Table talks which changed the political structure of Bulgaria and helped the country onto its new path to democracy. In subsequent career moves, he took over the helm of a bank and also held important positions in various governments of the country, notably as Secretary General of the Council of Ministers (1994) and Exec.Director of the Bulgarian Privatisation Agency (1995-1997). Having been an active player in the world he describes, he perfectly depicts the characters of his novel - the businessmen and politicians - with the uncanny eye and knowledge of an insider. Seen in this light, the reader will be left in no doubt as to why the author's books have won five national awards, while two of his works were also published in Russia and France and two co-authored in the USA and UK.

• | Author: Vesselin Blagoev
• | Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• | Publication Date: Aug 11, 2016
• | Number of Pages: 250 pages
• | Language: Bulgarian
• | Binding: Paperback
• | ISBN-10: 1534855327
• | ISBN-13: 9781534855328