What Readers Are Saying About "Forgiveness"

Readers of two of my recent stories, especially my story "Forgiveness," have posted their feedback on social media and in messages to me, and I'd like to share their words. I hope you have a chance to read the story!

"Forgiveness"

Published in June 2023, The Writing Disorder                          

"It is a poignant, so moving short piece of fiction and realism mixed in one entity. I know the tales about our Jews and the courageous acts of the representatives of the Christian Orthodox Church and the society in its entirety. There have been movies dedicated to this part of the Bulgarian history and at school we learnt about exactly what is described in the letters."

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"Very interesting and thought provoking."

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"Wow!"

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"The story brought tears to my eyes."

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"It's quite moving and makes me think of where my wife's family (from Dupnitsa and Kyustendil) or those of Jewish Bulgarian friends (one Jewish family from Dupnitsa particularly comes to mind) may have been in these moments."

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"This is great, Ellis, very well written. Thanks for sharing, I learned a bunch too!"

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"Great story! I really enjoyed how effortlessly it takes you back in time."

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"Powerful story!!  I knew nothing of Bulgaria and its past history. A lot of research went into this one for sure!!!  Well done."

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"Thank you for sharing the complicated history of Bulgaria during the Holocaust."

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"Good story. Is it fictional? I couldn’t tell. It’s not precise that all 48,000 Jews survived. Boris didn’t care about the Bulgarian Jews, who were abroad from September 1, 1939 on. They were all given to the Nazis and the BG government only asked for their names, so they could take over the property left."

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"It's a deeply touching, if also harrowing, story! Especially since it's, after all, based on true events. Good work! The story has both a documentary feel and a very personal one, and you've managed to portray a very multi-faceted tragedy, as part of an even more multi-faceted history."

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I hope you have a chance to read "Forgiveness", a fictional account of real historic events.