As a child, I had a dream that returned with such persistence that I can still feel the itch of it today. It was not something I dreamt in my sleep, at least not as far as I can remember. More like a place I could go whenever I wanted, somewhere I could hide and forget…

I begin this text with the relatively clear awareness that in writing it, I am committing a sort of ultimate version of that original philosophical sin – contradictio in adjecto, a contradiction in terms. Eliteness, as I feel it – and as I will try to present it below – consists…

The sky over the city hung like old laundry, worn and faded from too much washing. A fine, sharp drizzle shaved the air; people scurried along, apologizing to one another when their umbrellas touched. The bloated, pretentious building — seemingly dulled by the constant roar of…

It begins in a drowsy provincial town — Prespan, somewhere deep in 1980s Bulgaria — at a moment when history quietly forgets its manners. The so-called “Revival Process” is in full swing, and neighbour turns against neighbour in a fog of fear, confusion, and officially…