site.bta”Unfinished Symphony” by Albanian Writer Grigor Banushi Released in Bulgarian

The Albanian writer Grigor Banushi presented the Bulgarian translation of his book Unfinished Symphony at Sofia University on Thursday. One of the characters in the novel was inspired by a Bulgarian woman who chose to marry an Albanian during the totalitarian regime, Banushi told the students and readers. He added that there were many non-Albanian women who married Albanians and were persecuted by the regime afterwards.

Unfinished Symphony tells the story of pianist and composer Adrian Mara, who fled the totalitarian regime in Albania and settled in France. He was persecuted by the regime for one insignificant reason - his mother was Italian, the author said.

Grigor Banushi's books, especially Unfinished Symphony, reflect a sad part of Albanian history, the totalitarian regime, when many intellectuals were persecuted, said Albanian Ambassador to Bulgaria Inid Milo during the event. Nowadays the reality in Albania is completely different, added she. Albanians aspire to become a EU member and are proud to showcase their talents in Bulgaria, Europe and the world, the Ambassador added.

According to Grigor Banushi, Albania is not yet part of the EU, politically, but it is accepted and integrated through art. Many artists are famous all over Europe, he noted.

The desire of the Albanian writer to meet the Bulgarian audience dates back a long time, since the publication of his previous novel, The Anger of the Fairies, in Bulgarian, Svetlana Yancheva from the Izida publishing house. The book enjoyed a warn reception and had very good feedback from the Bulgarian readership, Yancheva noted. 

Grigor Banushi was born in Tirana in 1948. He graduated from the Department of Linguistics and Literature at the University of Tirana and after that worked as a teacher in Puka. Until 2013 he worked as a journalist at Radio Tirana. In 1997, he published his debut novel, The Death of Narcissus, followed by The Face of the Devil (2009). Grigor Banushi's third novel, The Anger of the Fairies, was published in 2015 and nominated for the European Prize for Literature.