THE BIRTH OF THE NOVEL OUT OF THE LYRIC: THE BULGARIAN NOVEL OF THE 1990S

• Authors: Burova Ani
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

This article explores specifics of the novel genre within the context of 1990s Bulgarian literature. The novel during this period was characterized by innovative endeavours, as well as genre heterogeneity and fluidity. Throughout the decade, novels developed features that can be considered intrinsic to poetry, such as fragmentariness, a hyper-subjective perspective on existence, multi-layered semantic complexity, linguistic and stylistic originality, and experimentalism. In this specific instance, the issue is not about the direct influence of poetry on prose, but rather the effect of the broader literary context of the time, which encouraged genre and stylistic contamination in the novel. The study focuses on several notable works from the 1990s, including Zlatomir Zlatanov’s The Japanese Man and the Stream and Emilia Dvoryanova’s Passion, or the Death of Alice. The analysis also centres on Georgi Gospodinov’s Natural Novel, a seminal work of the period in question, in which the prominent and multifaceted presence of poetry makes the interplay between prose and the lyric particularly visible. The article also discusses the impact of the genre heterogeneity found in 1990s novels on the subsequent evolution of the Bulgarian novel.

Keywords

EN

NOVEL; LYRIC; POSTMODERNISM; FRAGMENTATION; GENRE CONTAMINATION; BULGARIAN NOVEL

• Publisher: Institute of Slovak Literature, Slovak Academy of Sciences
• Journal: Slovenská literatúra (Slovak Literature)
• Year: 2025
• Volume: 72
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 389 - 398

Contributors

author

Burova Ani

• Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Faculty of Slavic Studies, Bul. Tzar Osvoboditel 15, Sofia 1504, Bulgaria

• https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6901-350X

Identifiers

DOI

https://doi.org/10.31577/slovlit.2025.72.4.8