Variations on Bulgarian Interwar Literature

Abstract

A review of two monographs on Bulgarian literature of the 1920s and 1930s: Stoyanova, Nadezhda. Adornments and Grimaces. Fashion and Modernity in Bulgarian Literature of the 1920s and 1930s. Sofia: Paradigma, 2022, 378 pp. [In Bulgarian: Стоянова, Надежда. Украси и гримаси. Мода и модерност в българската литература от 20-те и 30-те години на ХХ век. София: Парадигма, 2022.]; Ruseva, Maria. Poetics of the Road in Bulgarian Literature of the 1920s and 1930s. Sofia University Press, 2022, 348 pp. [In Bulgarian: Русева, Мария. Поетика на пътя в българската литература от 20-те и 30-те години на ХХ век. София: УИ Св. Климент Охридски, 2022.] The review analyzes the literary motives and themes, as well as theoretizations of Modernity common for both studies. It argues that however the authors focus on the dramatic context of the interwar period and questions on identity and self-expression, they propose different ways out of traumatic experieces, as well as paths to self-realization through fashion or travel.