Dejan Enev is capable of fitting the long life of humanity into a short story. There are very few writers like him, both in Bulgarian and in world literature. With biblical energy, Enev creates hundreds of small worlds. His writing is like pieces of a puzzle, form his greater world — one in which we discover guilt, justification, and the meaning of our existence.
— Krasimir Dimovski
Short Stories, 136 PAGES, 2025
MISSING KYOTO
This seemingly small book contains a multitude of micro-worlds, in which the opposing aspects of the human soul stand out. The minimalist works, written in an unusually concise, yet powerful language, are divided into two sections. The first section is imbued with military themes, while the second presents various philosophies of life through the chronic grayness of everyday existence.
Empathy is the invisible thread uniting these stories, weaving them into an inseparable whole. At the same time, the author has also embedded symbolism in the title, which lends itself to different interpretations. On the one hand, judging by the first section, Kyoto symbolizes the unattainable longing to return to times of peace—a nostalgic yearning that remains unheard, as though it were only whispered quietly to the wind. If we broaden the scope of our interpretation by considering both sections together, Kyoto comes to embody the sorrow for what has been lost.