А finalist for prizes around the world, "The Physics of Sorrow" reaffirms Georgi Gospodinov's place as one of Europe's most inventive and daring writers.
Using the myth of the Minotaur as its organizing image, the narrator of Gospodinov's long-awaited novel constructs a labyrinth of stories about his family, jumping from era to era and viewpoint to viewpoint. Incredibly moving-such as with the story of his grandfather being accidentally left behind at a mill—and extraordinarily funny—see the section on the awfulness of the question "how are you?"—Physics is a book that you can inhabit, tracing connections, following the narrator down various "side passages," getting pleasantly lost in the various stories and empathizing with the misunderstood Minotaur at the center of it all.
Like the work of Dave Eggers, Tom McCarthy, and Dubravka Ugresic, "The Physics of Sorrow" draws you in with its unique structure, humanitarian concerns, and stunning storytelling.
