Viktor Paskov (1949–2009) belonged to a generation of writers deeply marked by the Communist era, the post-Stalinist period, and the year 1968, which brought a fleeting breath of hope for freedom that was quickly crushed in Prague by Soviet tanks. Expelled from the Bulgarian high school system for his rebellious spirit, Paskov joined his father in East Germany to study at the Leipzig Conservatory. Paskov began a career as an opera singer in the GDR, then returned to Bulgaria in 1981 where he initially worked as a music critic. Paskov’s first novel, Ballad for Georg Henig (1987), later translated into multiple languages, brought him success: the national Novel of the Year award and an invitation to join the Bulgarian Writers’ Union. Between 1989 and 1993, he lived in Paris where he wrote his second novel – Germany, a Dirty Tale, first published in French (1992). He was later appointed a cultural attaché in Berlin and in Bern, where he spent the last days of his life. He also authored two short story collections, his third and last novel Autopsy of a Love (1995), and several screenplays.