Helped by the narrator, the enigmatic Gaustine opens a clinic offering a complete recreation of the past as a novel treatment for Alzheimer’s - but these “time shelters” also appeal to those wishing to escape the present and Europe is soon engulfed in a crisis of nostalgia…

I’m finding it a little tricky to write a review that does this original novel justice - really loving a book often renders me inarticulate, but this one also just covers so much that it’s difficult to distill. The story didn’t unfold at all how I expected it to based on the blurb - it’s a meandering “big questions” book, rather than a story with a straightforward plot and character development, so it won’t be for everyone.

One of story’s main threads revolves around memory, variously exploring dementia and memory loss, our senses as triggers, nostalgia and shared memory, but also our own identities and sense of ourselves in relation to our own memories and others’ memories of us. The other main thread revolves around the rise of nationalism amidst European identity politics, both within the broader EU and individual countries, particularly Bulgaria.

I loved both aspects of the book and how they intertwined, the questions posed and introspection prompted on both a personal and broader societal level. I also loved learning a bit about Bulgaria and its fictional reckoning with its own history - it’s a country I know very little about.

The writing was thoroughly enjoyable, and the deadpan morbid humour was unexpected but much appreciated. Gospodinov draws connections between events and themes and etymologies with an intelligence and breadth of knowledge that reminded me of Ali Smith (though I wouldn’t say they’re particularly similar in style).

A shrewd philosophical exploration of memory, identity and European politics - extraordinarily timely yet equally timeless, a worthy winner of this year’s International Booker.