Patrick Bender - German Book Office
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April 2009 Book of the Month Selection
Collector of Worlds by Iliya Troyanov
The Collector of Worlds was translated by William Hobson and was released on March 24th, 2009.
The Collector of Worlds imagines the life and adventures of one of the 19th century’s most colorful characters. This novel follows Burton through his journeys to British West India, Mecca, and east Africa. Perspective shifts between Burton and the voices of those men he encounters along the way: his Indian servant tells the stories of his travails with Burton to a scribe; the qadi, the governor, and the shari in Mecca investigate Burton’s hajj; and Sidi Mubarek Bom-bay, his African guide, shares his story with friends in Zanzibar. Facts and fiction are flawlessly interwoven as Troyanov examines the underbelly of colonialism while offering readers a breathtaking tour of the nineteenth century’s most stunning landscapes.
Iliya Troyanov was born in Bulgaria in 1965 and has lived in Germany, Kenya, India, and South Africa. He has written several novels as well as travelogues on Africa, India, and Bulgaria. His Along the Ganges was included in Condé Nast’s list of the best travelogues ever.
“I was thrilled by this book. One could compare it with Moby Dick, narrated in a masterly manner…This is a novel that entertains as well as informs, and this is the best that one could say of any book.” Günter Grass
“Troyanov recounts with gusto the three big adventures in Sir Richard Francis Burton’s oversized life…But the book’s most satisfying adventure is the African explorations… Troyanov (Mumbai to Mecca) is intimately acquainted with the Indian Ocean world, and this book has the cool virtuosity of one explorer saluting another.” Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“[An] entrancing novel ... The adventures could gallop along, but Troyanov writes with the sort of specificity that makes his readers savor each detail and each line. From the novel’s first line ... words explode with meaning, descriptions shimmer in new light.” Rose Jacobs, Financial Times
“In The Collector of Worlds, Iliya Troyanov has turned Burton’s unbelievable life into believable fiction, achieving a rounded and satisfying portrait that traditional biography could never match…Troyanov’s novel is itself an act of brave exploration, setting out to chart the unknown and unknowable by filling in the blank spaces of Richard Francis Burton.” The New York Times Book Review
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