Thomas's Reviews > The Shadow Land

This book takes place entirely in Bulgaria. It starts with an American woman, Alexandra Boyd, dropped off at the wrong hotel by a taxi that is now gone. She is trying to decide how to get another taxi and get to the hostel where she has a reservation when she steps up to stop an elderly woman from falling. The two men with her thank her before they get into their taxi. She asks permission to take their picture and they leave after she takes the picture. Only then does she discover she has mistakenly taken one of their bags. She opens it and discovers an urn of ashes.
The book goes back and forth between her efforts to return the urn and the arrest of the dead man in 1949 by the Bulgarian secret police on false charges. The narrative of the horrific labor camp to which Stoyan Lazarov is sent is not for a squeamish person. It reminds me of One day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, which I read over 50 years ago. There are some sinister men following Alexandra and her taxi driver friend as she tries to return the urn
The two narratives do connect at the end of the book for a very satisfying ending.
This book brought back memories of my two months in Bulgaria, volunteering as a UN Sanctions Assistance Monitor in the summer of 1993 during the Bosnian war.
Some memories:
Shopska salad--greens. sliced cucumbers& tomatoes covered with shredded sheep's cheese
Doorways into shops with ribbons or bead from the top of the doorway to the floor.
Excellent and very cheap wine. I was at a restaurant with colleagues. I ordered a glass of wine. I spoke almost no Bulgarian. The waitress spoke very little English, but told me that I could not order a glass of wine. I must buy the whole boutelika, which turned out to be $2 for the bottle.
The Rila monastery, not mentioned in the book, but a UNESCO World Heritage site that I visited. Alexandra visits a fictional monastery driving through fictional mountain villages that are familiar to me.
Some quotes:
Fall of the Berlin wall "Actually, it was all to the credit of Pink Floyd. They built the wall and they made it fall down one little piece at a time."
Doorway "In the field beside them stood a doorway, all by itself--no house, no door--just the frame and a few concrete blocks."
Smile "That smile--so handsome it made the sun come out."
I am counting this for Bulgaria in my UN mystery challenge.
Violinist "He said the violin should be able to tell the truth and it should be able to cry."
An easy 4.5 stars. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me this book.