A teenage boy starts his life anew at a Catholic boarding school in the city of Calbe/Saale, Germany while his father is a fellow at the famous Martin-Luther University. The country has been unified for less than a year, and in the streets of some cities, neo-Nazi groups march, attacking foreigners, punks, or anyone who dares to look them straight in the eye. The boy will end up in the Home and will immediately be captivated by its magical atmosphere. He will learn German, and through the language, he will gradually discover more about himself and the world around him. He will fall in love for the first time, he will start questioning his own moral purity, and encounter both true friendship and true evil. This novel is a tale about friendship, honor, love and loneliness, that gradually reveals many answers to adulthood trauma. The fascinating adventure of a young, delicate soul.

Shortly after its publication, the novel was longlisted for the Peroto national literary award for contemporary Bulgarian prose and shortlisted for the national readers’ Helikon award. Later in the year it won Portal Culture’s literary award, it was shortlisted at the Novel of the Year award of the National Endowment Fund 13 Centuries Bulgaria and for the European Literary Prize (by the Bulgarian committee).

cover design by hristo gochev