But What Are They Eating in 'Rakiya'?

When Bulgarians sit down for a meal, they raise their glasses to make a traditional toast. “We look each other in the eyes and say ‘Nazdrave’,” explains a Bulgarian author to his Israeli visitor in the story ‘Sozopol’ in the collection Rakiya – Stories of Bulgaria. ‘To your health!’

The characters in the story are drinking rakiya, a Bulgarian alcoholic beverage that's made from fermented fruits, most commonly grapes, apples, pears, peaches, apricots, and cherries. “It’s best when it’s homemade,” the Bulgarian author continues. The Israeli finds the drink powerful, burning his throat with its strong alcoholic punch.

“It’s an acquired taste," the Bulgarian says, laughing at the Israel’s reddening face.

Read the rest of the article on the 'But What Are They Eating?' website.

Fran Lewis Interviews Me on Blog Talk Radio

"These stories are fantastic. If you've never been to Bulgaria, you'll want to get on a plane right now."

Listen to the full interview here.

"I appreciate that many of the stories are interlinked"

Excellent. Some stories are funny, but even those are touched with poignancy. Some are heartbreaking. All are enlightening, fascinating, well worth reading. I do highly recommend this book and just wish I'd been able to do so when it was first released.

Of course it's not too late. Go get it now!

I appreciate that many of the stories are interlinked, referencing towns, events, and even characters from others. But even with those additional clues I'm not sure I understood the author's intent in all the stories.

For example, I wonder about the Roma mother, and whether she'll actually ever get around to helping her daughter to find a way to a better life. The ending seems intentionally ambiguous....

The story about brothers definitely made an impact on me. The ending, gosh. But before that, I loved this bit: "I lived in his shadow for years, never meeting his expectations. Anton always looked down at me, I thought. This bothered me greatly, more now than before." What an intelligent, and valuable, insight, that children can overlook slights & other hardships, but adults can remember them with pain. Think about that.

A character says: "Today, antisemitism is virtually absent in the country, and most Bulgarians have a very favorable opinion of Israel." I wonder if that's still true, as the far-right takes over many European offices, and as the war expands past Gaza on its first anniversary.

I hope to share this marvelous book with some of the members of my book club.

Review posted on Goodreads

Author Interview - Hasty Book List

Many authors have inspired me over the years. During high school, I eagerly read every novel and short story written by Kurt Vonnegut. My favorites were "Cat's Cradle" and "The Sirens of Titan". My high school thesis was devoted to Vonnegut and I remember writing to his publicist and receiving an autographed copy of "Wampeters, Foma and Granfalloons" - his non-fiction collection of essays.

Next, I became a big fan of John Irving, especially enjoying his novels "The World According to Garp" and "The Hotel New Hampshire", but also his earlier work, "Setting Free the Bears" and "The Water-Method Man". As an aspiring author the thing I most admired about John Irving was his statement that he wrote the ending first, and then he created the plot for his novel, a story that would reach that concluding line. When I write, I too envision where the plot will take me in the end, and then my creative process brings me there eventually.

And one other author I must mention – Haruki Murakami. I'm not sure when I started reading his novels and short stories, but certainly "Norwegian Wood" was one of the first. I once made myself a list of seven reasons why I enjoyed reading Murakami. Among the reasons were that the settings in Murakami's stories are realistic, yet anything can happen. At one point, the bookshelf in my home included every Murakami book translated into English, but in subsequent years, my collection was built with digital copies as well.

Read the rest of the interview on Hasty Book Links.

Review in 'New Eastern Europe' magazine

"It is rare to find books on Bulgarian history in the English language – it is even more uncommon to come across works of fiction with a historical twist which are set in Bulgaria. Ellis Shuman’s Rakiya: Stories of Bulgaria shines a light on the idiosyncrasies of Bulgarian life and rich historical heritage while exposing angles on Bulgarian mentality of which the country’s citizens are often oblivious."

Read the full review by Radosveta Vassilevaon the New Eastern Europe website.

New Eastern Europe is the exclusive bimonthly news magazine dedicated to Central and Eastern European affairs published by the Jan Nowak-Jeziorański College of Eastern Europe in Wrocław, a Polish-based NGO think tank.

"Insightful, culturally rich blend of short stories"

As someone without prior knowledge of Bulgaria, reading “Rakiya: Stories of Bulgaria” by Ellis Shuman was an insightful experience.

Rakiya, an eponymous chapter, is the first story in this collection of twelve short stories. It begins with an intensity that drives home the importance of Rakiya, especially when homemade, in Bulgarian culture. Unsurprisingly, Rakiya, the alcoholic drink, features throughout the book and is often lauded for its powerful taste and ability to enrich festive celebrations. However, the book delves into many other aspects of Bulgaria’s rich culture beyond the love for Rakiya. These aspects encompass its architecture, tourist attractions, favorable climate for startups, perseverance, hospitality, dark Second World War history, etc.

The first story explains how Rakiya is made while highlighting the importance of communication in preserving and restoring relationships. The second story, “Mother and Daughter,” as well as “The Volcano,” “Sozopol,” and “Forgiveness,” the third, fifth, and eleventh stories, call for introspection. These stories, in particular, present flawed characters doing their best to survive, provide for their loved ones, and acknowledge their mistakes. While it is easy to condemn certain actions they take in this bid to survive, such as pickpocketing, cowardice, and poor judgment, it is undeniable that there is a need for readers to consider what they would do if they were in the exact shoes of these characters during the temporal setting of each story.

Initially, the stories seem to end with the conclusion of each chapter, which can be rather abrupt, leaving the gap of ”What next?”. As the book progresses, however, the interconnectivity of each story unfolds beautifully and surprisingly. It is a pleasant surprise when a character who had a brief and mysterious appearance reappears in another story, shedding more light on his/her role in the earlier story, such as in “The Baker” (the seventh story). The baker helps the mother and her daughter in the second story, but readers only come to understand his character in this seventh story. He is Syrian, but due to the raging war between his country and Israel, he finds himself sheltering in Bulgaria with his family. During this seventh story, he has a brief encounter with an Israeli customer, whose perspective on this encounter isn’t revealed until the twelfth story.

The book’s physical setting revolves around Bulgaria, allowing readers to explore its capital, Sofia, as well as a few other locations like Sozopol, the Rhodope Mountains, and Varna while offering insight into Israeli and Syrian culture through dialogue and reflections from characters.

Indeed, the prose is detailed in drawing to the fore the richness of Bulgaria’s culture through vivid descriptions, such as:

“The squarish structure sat on a foundation of black-and-white striped arches; five golden domes above sparkled in the sunlight. The church’s remarkable architectural style, ornamental in nature, seemed to date not only to another century, but to another mindset as well. I stood in silent reverence, as awestruck as the devout pilgrims. Serenity. Tranquility. Holiness. I wasn’t a religious person, but here I felt something very spiritual.” (Pages 126-127).

“As you may know, in Bulgaria, our religion is Eastern Orthodox Christianity. The monastery is what kept the Bulgarian spirit alive through the centuries of Ottoman rule. During our oppression, the monks safeguarded our language, our culture, our history, even our alphabet. We may not be a religious country today, but Bulgarians regard the Rila Monastery as our most sacred site.” (Page 127).

“Rakiya: Stories of Bulgaria” by Ellis Shuman is an insightful, culturally rich blend of short stories, ranging from humorous to creepy to somber. If you enjoy learning about cultures and history and prefer a diverse mix of characters, then “Rakiya” is definitely worth the read. I particularly enjoyed “Sozopol” because I was pleasantly surprised by its conclusion.

Review posted on Goodreads.

Review of ‘Saving Abigail’ by Liz Hirsh Naftali

When Hamas attacked Israel in the early morning hours of October 7, 2023, one of the hardest hit communities was Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Nukhba Force terrorists smashed through the border fence and launched a murderous rampage, going from house to house and killing, raping, and abducting civilians. Smadar and Roee Mor Idan were murdered in their home. Two of their children survived the attack by hiding inside a closet for 14 hours. Three-year-old Abigail was taken hostage by Hamas.

Spoiler alert: Abigail, the youngest U.S. citizen held by Hamas, was released in November, after 51 days of captivity in Gaza. Another spoiler alert: As of this writing, 97 hostages remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the IDF.

Saving Abigail: The True Story of the Abduction and Rescue of a Three-Year-Old Hostage by Liz Hirsh Naftali (Post Hill Press, September 9, 2024) details the author’s efforts, alongside others, to rescue Abigail and free the remaining hostages.

Hirsh Naftali, Abigail’s great aunt, happened to be in the country on that tragic October morning. The losses in her family hit hard, but she quickly realized there was something she could do. “I could tell people what had happened. I could let people know what Hamas had done to my family in Kfar Aza, and to the entire country,” she writes in the book.

With no prior knowledge or plan how to rescue a hostage from captivity, she set out to share her niece’s face and story, to not only bring awareness of the hostages’ plight, but to encourage American politicians and world leaders to increase diplomatic pressure on Hamas to release their prisoners.

“Practically speaking, I had no idea how to move the entire American federal government in the midst of an unprecedented geopolitical mess,” she writes. But “America still cared about its people, and when it focused its full powers towards a specific objective, it could make big things happen.”

Hirsh Naftali had an advantage over others who lost family members on October 7^th. She had connections with leading American politicians, many of whom she seemingly had on speed dial. She began calling and meeting with congressional and world leaders, including President Joe Biden.

The extensive name dropping on the pages of the book can be overwhelming, especially to those unfamiliar with American politics. However, with all her connections, Hirsh Naftali could not guarantee Abigail’s release.

“Freeing Abigail seemed an insanely ambitious goal most of the time,” Hirsh Naftali writes. “She was part of events far bigger than the kidnapping and captivity of one tiny three-year-old child.”

Abigail was among the group of hostages released back to Israel during a temporary truce. The second half of the book details the author’s continued advocacy for the release of the other hostages. While they remain captive in Gaza at this time, it is important to know that there are those who fight for their release every day, and this book’s author is one of them.

Liz Hirsh Naftali is an investor, philanthropist, and the host and creator of The Capitol Coffee Connection podcast. She is the mother of five children and has lived between Israel and the US since 1992.

Originally posted on The Times of Israel.

Meet the Author Podcast

In September 2024, I had the opportunity to speak about my life, my writing, and my books with Rob & Joan from the Meet the Author Podcast.

You're invited to listen in!