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Book Reviewed by:Stork Mountain is an enormously charming, slyly brilliant debut novel from an internationally celebrated writer. It is a novel that will undoubtedly find a home in many readers' hearts.
In Stork Mountain, a young Bulgarian immigrant returns to the country of his birth in search of his grandfather, who suddenly and unexpectedly cut all contact with the family three years ago. The trail leads him to a village on the border with Turkey, a stone's throw away from Greece, high up in the Strandja Mountains - a place of pagan mysteries and black storks nesting in giant oaks; a place where every spring, possessed by Christian saints, men and women dance barefoot across live coals in search of rebirth. Here in the mountains, he gets drawn by his grandfather into a maze of half-truths. And here, he falls in love with an unobtainable Muslim girl. Old ghosts come back to life and forgotten conflicts blaze anew until the past surrenders its shameful secrets.
Stork Mountain is one of the more extraordinary novels I've read recently. The plot, setting and characters are all unusual and captivating, and the author's ability to forge these diverse elements into a compelling story is nothing short of stunning. The novel might not work for everyone, as it does require a bit of perseverance to get to the meat of it, but those looking for a departure from the standard fare will likely find this one a winner...continued
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(Reviewed by Kim Kovacs).
Nestinarstvo, or ritual fire-dancing, plays an important role throughout Stork Mountain.
The practice, which involves walking barefoot across burning coals, is specific to the Strandja Mountain region in southeast Bulgaria, an area that shares both borders and cultural ties with Greece. Indeed, it's believed that the rite originated with the ancient Thracian peoples of Greece as part of their cult of sun worship. As Christianity spread throughout the area, over the centuries the customs were gradually adapted so that they would fit into the new religious framework.
The dance is said to celebrate St. Constantine (the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great, who gave Christianity legal standing) and his mother, St. Helene. As patron saints ...
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"I can't speak to Miroslav Penkov's standing among Bulgarian novelists, but now that I've read Stork Mountain, it is easy to say that Penkov is my favorite novelist publishing in America.
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