Summary of Solo
Ulrich, a 100-year-old Bulgarian man has spent almost his entire life in Bulgaria, escaping it only in his daydreams. The first part of the novel “Solo” recounts Ulrich’s life story against the backdrop of Bulgaria’s turbulent twentieth century. The second part follows Boris and Irakli, characters born of Ulrich’s imagination, as they navigate modern-day New York.
Reasons to read Solo
“Solo” reads like two distinct novellas. The first is a moving portrayal of Ulrich’s life intertwined with recent Bulgarian history, while the second is more surreal, giving voice to his fantasies and imagination. Rana Dasgupta, a British-Indian writer, won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for “Solo” and later received the Ryszard Kapuściński Award for his book “Capital: A Portrait of Delhi in the Twenty‑First Century”.
Setting: Sofia (Bulgaria) & New York (USA)
Original title: Solo
Year of publication: 2009
Nr of pages: 368
