‘Some smuggle cigarettes, others alcohol – or weapons.\nOur contraband, being invisible, is more dangerous.\nOur contraband is undetectable by scanners.\nWhat we carry as concealed excess baggage is stories.’\n\nIn this exquisite literary gem, Georgi Gospodinov, winner of the International Booker Prize, invites the reader on a winding journey through his own memories.\n\nHe shows us a childhood under Communism, a particularly Bulgarian variety of melancholy, the freedom and thrills found in reading and writing, and the coming of age of one extraordinary writer.\n\nUltimately, this profound, playful and deeply moving autobiographical text offers resounding proof of the power and importance of storytelling.\n\nTRANSLATED FROM THE BULGARIAN BY KRISTINA KOVACHEVA AND DAN GUNN