It is very important for stories to be written and told, says Bulgarian author Georgi Gospodinov, winner of the 2023 International Booker Prize

“Memories can become a trap, a slow poison that may feel good in the beginning, but there may come a time you can’t get out of the past,” says Bulgarian writer Georgi Gospodinov, winner of the 2023 International Booker Prize. Of the strong view that it is important for stories to be written and told, he is also preoccupied with events of the present, with nations afraid of what the future might hold. In fact, he started writing his award-winning book Time Shelter, which looks at the past, present and uncertain future, when Donald Trump was elected US president and Britain was going through turmoil over Brexit.

“This is not an easy time. Hence, the plot in Time Shelter is that all the European countries are afraid of their future and they choose to live in their past,” Gospodinov said in an interview.

“The crisis of human civilisation is an existential crisis, not an economic crisis,” he said during a recent trip to India to attend the Jaipur Literature Festival.

Time Shelter starts with the main character, Gaostki, a psychiatrist who has opened a clinic for people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Each floor of the clinic is divided into a decade of memories where patients can visit different floors and relive the past decades of their lives.

After this, a referendum is held in Europe about which country wants to live in the memories of which decade.

“In the second part the danger of the past comes to the fore. Every country wants to live in the past and people start losing their memories,” Gospodinov said.

Discussing the political realities of Europe, specially Eastern Europe, the Sofia-based author said, “The entire world is no longer a good place to live. But we are living, and we are living in the past and living in the past is not a good thing.”

“Everyday life has changed with the Ukraine war in Europe. In Europe, we were told after World War 2 that war was impossible. That’s why it’s so shocking to see this war. That’s why I think it is very important for stories to be written and told. You need to read about this part of the world to know it. We talk more about economics and politics, but we should talk about stories and writers,” he said.