He takes a deep breath, reaches out, and takes the money. But I can’t accept it, he says.
You will.
Zack, this is a hell of a lot of money!
Take it, go to school, and make art for the rest of your life. Life is beautiful, Danny.
I push my friend aside. I have to go. There, I’m already on the train. Thank God it’s almost empty. I hear a whistle. We take off. I look around for Stella, I see her sitting by the window. I pull a bottle of water from my backpack, sit next to her, and embrace her winter-phobic shoulders. She smiles, drinks, and rests her head on my chest.
We watch the world outside through our reflections.
THE END
Acknowledgements from the Author
My sincerest thanks to:
—my wonderful translator Angela Rodel, with whom I share the love of music, words and—amazingly—a birthday. Is it because we are astro-related, or is it just that you can read my thoughts in both languages?
—my weekly coffee-and-almond-croissant literary “circle”—Arthur Salm and Jennifer de Poyen, talented writers, the sharpest editors, and above all, my best friends. I owe you both so much.
—Elizabeth Kostova, a great writer and a gentle cultural diplomat with her own literary embassy, the Elizabeth Kostova Foundation, as well as the wonderful people running it.
—Svetlyo Zhelev, my awesome Bulgarian publisher and friend; also everybody from Ciela Publishing—Nazdrave!
—Maya Sloan—the talented, gifted, and funny as hell “Burn Sister” of mine.
—Mariana Juliette—a powerful generator of genuine positivity, a true friend without borders—please accept my deepest gratitude.
—my many thousands of Bulgarian fans—Blagodaria!
—my film producers—Boris, Viktor, and Georgi—you saw the movie between the lines.
—Chad W. Post and Nathan Furl for saving the day one particular Wednesday afternoon, just before Happy Hour.
—Open Letter Books for giving me this opportunity.
—Kaija Straumanis.
—my Bulgarian editor and dearest friend, Pepa Georgieva—I don’t know if I would have ever written this book if it hadn’t been for you. Your merciless editing helped me tremendously.
—thank you, Sara, for being a kind, extremely intelligent and funny kid, AND for being my beautiful daughter. I love you “from the depths of the sea, to the heights of the sky,” remember?
And finally, thank you, Silvia—for everything. Always.
p.s.
I grew up in a country whose language is spoken by fewer than nine million people. Most of the literature that shaped me as a reader and an individual, and later as a writer, was in translation, mostly English works in Bulgarian.
This translation of 18% Gray from Bulgarian to English is, in a way, my chance to give back what’s been borrowed, a raindrop returning to the ocean it came from.
About the Author
Zachary Karabashliev is a Bulgarian-born novelist and playwright, now living and writing in the U.S. His debut novel—18% Gray—is a bestselling title, winner of the VIK prize Novel of the Year, and one of the 100 most-loved books of all time by Bulgarians in the BBC campaign “The Big Read.” He is also the author of the short story collections A Brief History of the Airplane and Symmetry, as well as the awarded stage plays Recoil and Sunday Evening. He also wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation of 18% Gray.
About the Translator
Angela Rodel is the translator of The Apocalypse Comes at 6 P.M. by Georgi Gospodinov, Party Headquarters by Gerogi Tenev, and Thrown into Nature by Milen Ruskov. She was awarded a 2010 PEN Translation Fund Grant for her translation of several stories from Tenev’s Holy Light.
About the Publisher
Open Letter—the University of Rochester’s nonprofit, literary translation press—is one of only a handful of publishing houses dedicated to increasing access to world literature for English readers. Publishing ten titles in translation each year, Open Letter searches for works that are extraordinary and influential, works that we hope will become the classics of tomorrow.
Making world literature available in English is crucial to opening our cultural borders, and its availability plays a vital role in maintaining a healthy and vibrant book culture. Open Letter strives to cultivate an audience for these works by helping readers discover imaginative, stunning works of fiction and poetry, and by creating a constellation of international writing that is engaging, stimulating, and enduring.
Current and forthcoming titles from Open Letter include works from Argentina, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Poland, Russia, South Africa, and many other countries.
www.openletterbooks.org
Table of Contents
Copyright
18% Gray
Acknowledgements from the Author
About the Author
About the Translator
About the Publisher
18% Gray Page 26