site.btaGeorgi Gospodinov's Death and the Gardener Wins Award for Bookstore Best Seller
Renowned Bulgarian writer Georgi Gospodinov won the Helikon Flower Award Friday for his novel Death and the Gardener. The award is presented annually by the Helikon bookstore chain for one of the 12 books that have sold the most copies in the past year. Having received the award, Gospodinov told BTA that it is one of the best recognitions because it comes from readers.
According to Gospodinov, the secret to getting readers to like one's work is to talk honestly about things that tend to remain unnoticed or to be taboo. He added: "In this particular case with Death and the Gardener, it's a book about death, or rather about life fading away, a book about having the person who is about to leave accompanied to the door where you let go of their hand. But there's no way that a book like this could not be honest and painful. It moves constantly between pain and consolation. Because there are a lot of funny stories inside about my father, the main character of this book. So, if this was a secret, that's the secret."
Gospodinov shared that his writing process is slow and added: "I would be writing something, not knowing what it is yet. It would be spinning in my head, and I'd be writing some things down. Once it's out, we'll find out."
Other recipients of the Helikon Flower Award include Theodora Dimova, Viktor Paskov, Boyan Biolchev, Alek Popov, Zachary Karabashliev, Kalin Terziyski, Mihail Veshim, Ivo Siromahov, Nedyalko Slavov, Milen Ruskov, Katerina Hapsali, Georgi Mishev, Zdravka Evtimova.
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