"The stories called "sad" forced me to read them in one sitting and shook me. They are a sincere confession of the virtue and abomination of man, of his fall and greatness, of the infinity of man! I was struck by their authenticity, as if they were experienced not only by the author, but also by me. Life in them is both real and intertwined with quiet moral messages, it attracts and subjugates the reader. 'People With Nicknames' is a memorable achievement in our fiction today." - Vladimir Zarev
"These stories are truly extremely sad. But strangely, they do not fill us with pessimism and despair, because the author's compassion rises above hopelessness. The everyday existence of people flows with their naive and colloquial words. In fact, the characters are complex, but they do not find salvation from their difficult and even suicidal fate. And we, the readers, as if once again in Bulgarian literature hear the sympathetic words of a classic: "God, how much sorrow there is in this world, God!". - Mikhail Nedelchev
Bozhidar Manov (b. 1947) is a film critic with hundreds of publications in print and electronic media; Professor, Doctor of Science (Art Studies). He was the vice president of FIPRESSI (International Federation of Film Critics). He is the author of nine books on cinema (theory and criticism) and the translator of six novels. People with Nicknames. Wistful Stories is his second book of fiction, following Uninvented Man (2004).
Bozhidar Manov is an honorary citizen of Sofia.
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