Time Shelter

Time Shelter (Bulgarian: Времеубежище, romanized: Vremeubezhishte) is a 2020 novel by Bulgarian author Georgi Gospodinov. In 2021, the Italian version of the novel, titled Cronorifugio and translated by Giuseppe Dell'Agata was awarded the Strega European Prize.[1] In 2023, the English version of the novel, translated by Angela Rodel, became the first Bulgarian-language novel to both be nominated for and win the International Booker Prize.[2][3] The £50,000 prize was equally shared between Gospodinov and Rodel.[4]

Time Shelter
English edition
AuthorGeorgi Gospodinov
Original titleВремеубежище
TranslatorAngela Rodel
LanguageBulgarian
GenreFiction
Published
Publisher
Media typePrint, digital
Pages304
Awards
ISBN9781474623087 (Weidenfeld & Nicolson)

Plot

The novel follows an unnamed narrator and Gaustine, a psychiatrist who creates a clinic for people with Alzheimer's disease in Zürich.[5] Each floor of the clinic recreates a decade in intricate detail, aiming to transport patients back in time to revisit their memories. Tasked with collecting past artifacts for the clinic, the narrator travels across countries.[6][7] Soon, healthy people turn to the clinic to flee their monotonous lives and the idea becomes widespread when more clinics open. Referendums are held across Europe to decide which past decade each country should live in, in the future.[8][9]

Development

Time Shelter is Gospodinov's third novel to be published in English.[10] In an interview with The Booker Prizes, Gospodinov revealed that his inspiration came from the rise of the populism movement in 2016, as well as Brexit, and that his writing was influenced by writers Thomas Mann and Jorge Luis Borges.[11] Overall, the novel took nearly three years to write and around six months to be translated into English.[11]

Reception

Critical reception

Time Shelter has received international praise from critics. The review aggregator website Book Marks reported an overall "Postive" rating for the novel based on 8 reviews: 2 critics gave a "Rave" review, while 6 gave a "Positive" review.[12]

In 2022, the novel was named as one of the best books of the year by The New Yorker magazine.[13] Kirkus Reviews described Time Shelter as "an ambitious, quirky, time-folding yarn",[14] while Nobel Prize winner Olga Tokarczuk described the novel as "the most exquisite kind of literature, on our perception of time and its passing, written in a masterful and totally unpredictable style".[4] In its review, The Guardian commented "from communism to the Brexit referendum and conflict in Europe, this funny yet frightening Bulgarian novel explores the weaponisation of nostalgia".[5]

Awards and accolades

In 2021, the Italian translation of Time Shelter was awarded the Strega European Prize, Italy's most prestigious literary award. The win marked the first time that the award was given to a Eastern European writer.[15]

In 2023, the English translation of the novel was awarded the International Booker Prize. Leïla Slimani, the chairwoman of the judging panel, described the novel as "a brilliant novel, full of irony and melancholy."[16] The novel was ultimately chosen from a shortlist of six books.[10] On winning the prize, author Gospodinov commented, "it is commonly assumed that 'big themes' are reserved for 'big literatures,' or literatures written in big languages, while small languages, somehow by default, are left with the local and the exotic. Awards like the International Booker Prize are changing that status quo, and this is very important."[10][11]

References
  1. "Cronorifugio - Georgi Gospodinov". voland.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2023-05-28.
  2. "Time Shelter by Georgi Gospodinov, translated by Angela Rodel, wins the International Booker Prize 2023 | The Booker Prizes". thebookerprizes.com. 2023-05-23. Retrieved 2023-05-27.
  3. "Georgi Gospodinov's 'Time Shelter' becomes first Bulgarian book to win the International Booker Prize". The Economic Times. 2023-05-24. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 2023-05-27.
  4. "What everybody is saying about Time Shelter winning the International Booker Prize | The Booker Prizes". thebookerprizes.com. 2023-05-26. Retrieved 2023-05-28.
  5. McGuinness, Patrick (2022-05-20). "Time Shelter by Georgi Gospodinov review – the dangers of dwelling in the past". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-05-27.
  6. "Reading guide: Time Shelter by Georgi Gospodinov, translated by Angela Rodel | The Booker Prizes". thebookerprizes.com. 2023-04-24. Retrieved 2023-05-27.
  7. Chatterjee, Sukla (2023-05-24). "Time Shelter: International Booker's first Bulgarian winner is a rich experiment in style, structure and ideas". The Conversation. Retrieved 2023-05-27.
  8. "Los Angeles Review of Books". Los Angeles Review of Books. 2022-06-24. Retrieved 2023-05-27.
  9. "Time Shelter". wwnorton.com. Retrieved 2023-05-28.
  10. Blair, Elizabeth (2023-05-23). "Georgi Gospodinov and Angela Rodel win International Booker Prize for 'Time Shelter'". npr. Retrieved 2023-05-30.
  11. "Georgi Gospodinov interview: 'I felt something had gone awry in the clockworks of time' | The Booker Prizes". thebookerprizes.com. 2023-04-18. Retrieved 2023-05-30.
  12. "Book Marks reviews of Time Shelter by Georgi Gospodinov, trans. by Angela Rodel". Book Marks. Retrieved 2023-05-30.
  13. "The Best Books of 2022". The New Yorker. 2022-10-26. Retrieved 2023-05-27.
  14. TIME SHELTER | Kirkus Reviews.
  15. "Georgi Gospodinov, Harriman Writer in Residence". The Harriman Institute. Retrieved 2023-05-30.
  16. Marshall, Alex (2023-05-23). "'Time Shelter' Wins International Booker Prize". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-05-27.
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